Hungary vs England LIVE: Nations League team news, line-ups and more tonight

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Southgate and Kane hopeful of no repeat of racist abuse of players in Hungary

England begin their Uefa Nations League campaign today as they take on Hungary in Group A3. Germany and Italy are the other teams in England’s group so Gareth Southgate will want to kick off the Three Lions’ run with a positive result this evening.

The game was originally supposed to be played behind closed doors but the Hungarian FA have allowed 30,000 schoolchildren in to witness the clash after the hosts exploited a loophole against their punishment for racist behaviour. England beat Hungary in their World Cup qualifier on the road but drew at Wembley in their most recent encounter.

Southgate could potentially hand debuts to James Justin and Jarrod Bowen as four Nations League games will be played in quick succession, meaning changes to line-ups and personnel are expected to be commonplace over the next two weeks. The England manager’s main priority will be to utilise these matches to finalise who will be in his squad for this year’s World Cup, making performances more valuable than results in some cases as players stake their individual cases for inclusion. He’ll also be hoping England can keep up their recent record of challenging for honours in whichever competition they are taking part in.

Follow all the action as Hungary host England in the Nations League:
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    Harry Kane feeling liberated as he hunts down Wayne Rooney’s England goal record
    Harry Kane feeling liberated as he hunts down Wayne Rooney’s England goal record

Hungary vs England

    England begin their Nations League campaign away to Hungary
    Kick-off at 5pm BST
    England XI: Pickford, Walker, Coady, Maguire, Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Rice, Justin, Bowen, Kane, Mount

1 minute ago
Kane chasing Rooney’s record

Harry Kane is on 49 international goals, only four behind Wayne Rooney’s England record of 53. The Three Lions play four matches during this international period and it is likely that the captain will become England’s leading goalscorer.

"I’d love to break it as soon as possible," he said of the record. "I’d like to score as many goals as possible in the next four games.

"It seems like a long time ago I made my debut. It’s still one of the best feelings, playing for England and pulling on the shirt. Back then it wasn’t a number I had in my head.

“It all goes so quickly with the games and major tournaments. It’s great to be nearer 50, although, still a few behind Wazza."

Michael Jones4 June 2022 16:20
7 minutes ago
England’s winning run

England are unbeaten in their last 22 games, winning 18 and only conceding six goals - their longest ever unbeaten streak.

On top of that, Hungary have not beaten England in the last 15 attempts, since the 1962 World Cup.

The hosts have been ordered to play games without crowds after repeated racist behaviour by their supporters but due to a Uefa regulation, children can go accompanied by an adult, so there may be 30,000 in attendance tonight.
Michael Jones4 June 2022 16:14
11 minutes ago
'These games are important’ says Kane

England captain, Harry Kane, say that these four Nations League matches are important for the squad as they are the only games the Three Lions will play before the World Cup opener against Iran on 23rd November.

Kane said: "It makes every training session and game important. There will be rotation in the squad and five subs in the games.

"Every time I step on the pitch I want to impress Gareth [Southgate] and there are only six games to the World Cup so not a lot of preparation time.”
Michael Jones4 June 2022 16:10
17 minutes ago
England’s Nations League fixtures

After tonight’s opening affair in Budapest, Gareth Southgate’s men head off to Germany before back-to-back games at Molineux. Here’s England’s Nations League schedule:

Today at 17:00, vs Hungary, Puskas Arena, Budapest.

Tuesday, 7th June, vs Germany, 19:45, Allianz Arena, Munich.

Saturday 11th June, vs Italy*, 19:45, Molineux, Wolverhampton.

Tuesday, 14th June, vs Hungary, 19:45, Molineux, Wolverhampton.

*to be played behind closed doors.
Michael Jones4 June 2022 16:04
22 minutes ago
Three Lions arrive at Puskas Arena

Kick off for England’s opening Nations League fixture is just over an hour away. The players have arrived at the Puskas Arena and Gareth Southgate has named his starting XI.

Jarrod Bowen and James Justin have been handed debuts, can the Three Lions get their campaign underway with a win?
(The FA via Getty Images)
Michael Jones4 June 2022 15:59
27 minutes ago
England World Cup 2022 squad: Who’s on the plane, who’s in contention and who has work to do?

England will be aiming to go one better than last year and win their first major international tournament in 56 years at the World Cup in Qatar.

Gareth Southgate’s side will play the United States, Iran and the winner of a play-off between Wales and Scotland in the group stages.

This month’s Nations League fixtures against Hungary, Germany and Italy will provide Southgate with a valuable opportunity to assess his options ahead of the tournament, which begins in November.

It is yet to be confirmed whether squad sizes will be expanded to 26 players - up from the usual 23, but in line with last summer’s European Championship.

Here, The Independent takes a look at who could be included in Southgate’s final selection...
England World Cup 2022 squad: Who’s on the plane and who has work to do?

Who will be part of Gareth Southgate’s final squad for Qatar?
Karl Matchett4 June 2022 15:54
33 minutes ago
Harry Kane feeling liberated as he hunts down Wayne Rooney’s England goal record

The time when Harry Kane was simply a goalscorer was consigned to the past amid a series of defence-splitting passes. He came to look the footballing quarterback when he released Tottenham’s wide receiver Heung-Min Son with a series of inch-perfect passes. His sporting horizons have broadened. “I guess the ideal career would be a World Cup, a Super Bowl and maybe a Masters green jacket, if I am lucky to do that,” the England captain said. A year ago, the answer might have involved winning the Champions League under Pep Guardiola. Now it has changed.

If Kane has voiced an ambition to become a kicker in the NFL, the golfing aside was not said completely seriously. He flew over to Augusta for the last round at the Masters, the day after Tottenham’s win at Aston Villa. He spent Thursday watching the cricket on television, first heartened by England’s bowling, then disappointed by their batting. The country’s footballers were watched in training by Marcus Smith, the rugby union international, while Kane openly admits to having picked Tom Brady’s brains about keeping cool under pressure.

And yet, amid the sporting crossover, his defining feats relate to the trait that brought him to prominence: a capacity to put the ball in the back of the net. As Kane said: “My first thought is football.” And he might soon rank first for goals. He already has a World Cup Golden Boot. He could add England’s goalscoring record in the next two weeks. A player with eight goals in his last four games now has four matches to come, even if Hungary, Germany and Italy promise to be tougher opponents than Albania and San Marino, who permitted him seven goals in four productive November days.
Harry Kane feeling liberated as he hunts down Wayne Rooney’s England goal record

Kane is currently on 49 goals for his country, four behind Rooney’s record of 53
Karl Matchett4 June 2022 15:48
38 minutes ago
Fikayo Tomori primed for England chance after patience in Milan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ‘team talks’

Fikayo Tomori watched England’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy last summer in a hotel in Milan. He had spent most of the tournament back in London, cheering his international team-mates on for the quarter-final against Ukraine with friends at the Boxpark in Shoreditch. But he returned to the city that he now calls home a few days before the European Championship final.

“I remember when they scored, I just kind of had a face on and didn’t want to look too down, like we were going to lose,” he recalls. “Being there when they won, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

Tomori walked out by the duomo, past Italians celebrating in the cathedral’s piazza. “I was right in the middle of it,” he says, “but I just got home as quickly as I could.”

Tomori has fully embraced Italian life and culture since joining Milan on loan from Chelsea last season and making enough of an impression to earn a £25m permanent move. His Italian is coming on well – “sometimes, in the changing rooms, I find myself thinking in Italian instead of English,” he admits – and he is known to have acquired a taste for sfogliatelle, a shell-shaped pastry with a sweet filling.

“I’m enjoying it and I’m really happy. I think that when I went abroad there was talk around English players doing this, but I’ve just tried to embrace it as much as I could,” he says. “One thing I found is that when I’m in Italy I’m not thinking ‘I wish I was in England’. I feel really comfortable there; I’m not in a rush to come home if I have a day off. I’m settled and relaxed about being in Italy.”
Fikayo Tomori ready for England after Milan glory and Zlatan Ibrahimovic influence

The Serie A champion has embraced life in Italy and hopes to help England towards World Cup glory after witnessing celebrations in Milan following the Azzurri’s Euro 2020 win
Karl Matchett4 June 2022 15:43
42 minutes ago
England Under-21s top Euros qualifying group after win in Czech Republic

England Under-21s went top of their European Championship qualifying group after beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in Ceske Budejovice.

Emile Smith Rowe’s stunning opener and a second goal from Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey put the Young Lions in control before Czech substitute Daniel Fila’s superb late effort set up an anxious finale.

But Lee Carsley’s side held on without further scare and remain firmly on course for next summer’s finals in Georgia and Romania.

England, who have won six and drawn one of their first seven group fixtures, leapfrogged the Czech Republic into top spot in Group G, level on points and with two games in hand.

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