Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for today's international friendly between
England and Nigeria!
Today included, these two teams both have just two games remaining before the World Cup gets underway, and with the final deadline for squads arriving on Monday, this is the last match practice they will have to tweak anything before their 23-man roster is officially unchangeable.
This is a hugely important game for both managers, then, as well as for each player selected, so let's waste no time in checking out the team news...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Cahill; Trippier, Dier, Lingard, Alli, Young; Kane, Sterling
ENGLAND SUBS: Rose, Butland, Maguire, Delph, Livermore, Loftus-Cheek, Lallana, Vardy, Rashford, Welbeck, Pope, Heaton
NIGERIA STARTING XI: Uzoho; Idowu, Ekong, Balogun, Onazi, Mikel, Obi, Shehu, Ighalo, Moses, Iwobi
NIGERIA SUBS: Akpeyi, Ezenwa, Omeruo, Agu, Awaziem, Nwankwo, Iheanacho, Musa, Ogu, Ebuehi, Aina, Echejile, Etebo, Ndidi
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, we'll start with England and perhaps the biggest question mark surrounding Southgate's selection for that first World Cup game is over who will be in goal. Jordan Pickford is considered the favourite, and the Everton man gets the nod today in what could be a strong hint that he is above Butland and Pope in the pecking order.
It looks like a starting XI which may not be too dissimilar to the one England do start with in their opening match in Russia, so that is a very good sign for Pickford.
As expected, Southgate sticks with a back three as Kyle Walker once again plays on the right of that trio - a position we are still not quite used to seeing him in but one he is adapting to at international level.
Alongside Walker is his Manchester City teammate John Stones, while Gary Cahill completes that three-man defence. Maguire is left of the bench for today's match, while Phil Jones is absent having left the camp to attend the birth of his child.
The left-back slot is another area with question marks still surrounding it for England, but Ashley Young gets the nod above Fabian Delph today - both are makeshift players in that position, though.
Eric Dier will sit slightly deeper in midfield to allow the likes of Lingard and Dele Alli to push forward with less defensive responsibility on their shoulders. We expected Lingard to start - perhaps in place of Alli - but Southgate insisted that they could play together and he has put that into practice here.
© Reuters
Raheem Sterling is named in the starting lineup amid all of the debate over his controversial new gun tattoo, and the Manchester City man will no doubt be delighted to get back to playing football rather than focusing on the media circus which surrounds him.
Sterling is expected to play up front alongside Harry Kane, and he will be desperate to improve his international scoring ratio after a fine season at club level. The winger scored 23 goals across all competitions for City - including 18 in the Premier League - but he has just two goals in 37 games for England.
The main goal threat is likely to come from Harry Kane, though, with the Tottenham man coming off the back of his first 30-goal Premier League season, and subsequently being given the armband for this summer's World Cup.
Kane is one of only two players - alongside Danny Welbeck - to have scored 10 or more goals for England from the current squad, but there is no doubting that he is one of the world's best strikers, and he will likely be key to any English success in Russia.
As for Nigeria, there are plenty of recognisable names in the opposition squad this afternoon, including captain John Obi Mikel, who will lead his country out at Wembley this afternoon hoping for another successful experience at this ground.
Once a long-serving Chelsea midfielder, Mikel won the FA Cup three times during his Blues career and is the most capped player in Nigeria's squad with 83 international appearances to his name.
From ex-Chelsea to current Chelsea, and Victor Moses is also one of those included in the Nigeria starting lineup today. Moses is one of only two players in this Nigeria squad to be in double figures of international goals, and he is the only one to be starting today with Ahmed Musa on the bench.
Moses won the FA Cup at this ground just two weeks ago and will be hoping for similar success again, while Chelsea also have representatives on the bench with Ola Aina and Kenneth Omeruo named, although both spent last season on loan away from Stamford Bridge.
Brighton fans will be keeping a particularly close eye on Leon Balogun, who joined the Seagulls last month to become the latest of seven Premier League-based players in this Nigeria squad.
Arsenal's Alex Iwobi is one of only three of those starting, with Leicester duo Iheanacho and Ndidi among those on the bench, but England's players will also know former Watford striker Odion Ighalo well.
That Nigeria squad will need to be cut down to 23 players by Monday, but England boss
Gareth Southgate took the rather unorthodox step of naming his 23-man squad a long way before the deadline, attempting to ensure an undisrupted buildup to the tournament.
Of course, the best way to go into a tournament is with a few wins under your belt too, and this is one of only two World Cup warm-up friendlies England will be playing. The second comes at Elland Road on Thursday, when they take on a Costa Rica team that finished above them at the 2014 World Cup.
England will be desperate to make amends for that showing in Brazil four years ago this summer, but for once there seems to be very little expectation on their shoulders.
A group-stage exit in 2014 and loss to Iceland at Euro 2016 has no doubt contributed to that, but Southgate has also named a youthful squad which very much seems to be looking towards the future. Southgate is trying to usher in a new era for England, and hopefully that will stand the Three Lions in better stead ahead of future tournaments - although this one in Russia may just come too soon.
Having said that, England have been afforded a relatively kind draw, both in the group stages and beyond. The Three Lions will be expected to qualify from their group, and should results go as expected then that could see them face Poland in the last 16, which is another match well within their capabilities of winning.
Of course, anything can happen at a World Cup, and England certainly cannot afford to look past each game. Tunisia - who are first up for Southgate - have had some good warm-up results, while Panama are sure to be full of passion and energy in what is their first ever appearance on the biggest stage in football.
Belgium look like being the toughest test with such a wealth of talent at their disposal, and England may well have to settle for second place in the group if results go as expected, but that would still be a step up from four years ago when they recorded their worst World Cup showing since 1958.
England are still very much a work in progress, though, and there are plenty of questions which still need answering before they can even start thinking about the knockout rounds.
England do not come into this match in the best of form, winning just one of their last four outings, but three of those have been draws and you have to go back almost a year for their last defeat - a 3-2 friendly loss to France.
England have won five of their eight matches since then, although the lack of excitement in many of those games means that many are yet to be convinced about their credentials. England's defence is fine - they have conceded just one goal in their last six outings - but going forward they don't seem to be causing anywhere near enough problems.
The England statistics from qualifying look impressive enough - one of only four teams to go through the European stage unbeaten, and doing so with the join-best defensive record in the section -but it has not been as plain sailing as that might suggest.
Aside from the concerns over England's style, they also needed a managerial change early into the qualifying campaign when Sam Allardyce was forced to step down after just one game due to a media sting. Southgate has now been in charge for 16 games, of which he has won half, drawn six and lost two - against Germany and France.
© Reuters
Southgate has not enjoyed the best success in friendlies so far, though, winning just one of his seven such matches since taking the helm - although it should be noted that England have favoured glamour games against some of the world's best teams in that time.
England's only friendly victory in the past two years was a 1-0 triumph in the Netherlands in March, although it should also be noted that they are unbeaten in their last four non-competitive fixtures.
Nigeria are a team England will be expected to beat, though, which is certainly something that cannot be said for many of their other recent friendly opponents - although that is not to say that the Super Eagles will be an easy touch.
Nigeria will also be at this summer's World Cup, and they did it in style too, like England going through their qualifying campaign unbeaten. They are not here just to make up the numbers tonight - and the same will apply in Russia.
Gernot Rohr's side have been drawn in World Cup Group D, which pits them against Argentina, Croatia and Iceland. Nigeria's campaign begins two days before England's when they take on Croatia, and Iceland and Argentina will follow in the next two games.
Curiously, Nigeria and Argentina know each other remarkably well on the World Cup stage, with the Super Eagles having been drawn in the same group as La Albiceleste in five of the six World Cups they have qualified for.
This is the second of Nigeria's warm-up friendlies in the immediate buildup to the tournament, having been held to a 1-1 draw by Congo DR on Monday, conceding a 78th-minute penalty to squander their lead.
After tonight's match, Rohr's side will then take on Czech Republic in Austria on Wednesday to finalise their preparations, before heading out to Russia and getting their campaign underway in two weeks' time.
Nigeria's World Cup history does not date back too far, but they burst onto the scene in 1994 when they made their debut and they have only failed to qualify for one of the tournaments since - Germany 2006.
Their best-ever showing has been reaching the last 16 on three separate occasions - in 1994, 1998 and 2014 - while they will eliminated in the group stages in 2002 and 2010.
The Super Eagles come into this match with just one win from their last four games in all competitions, which is an untimely dip in form having gone 11 games unbeaten prior to that.
The 11-game unbeaten run actually ended in the final of the Africa Nations Championship when they were soundly beaten by Morocco, since when they have won one, drawn one and lost two of their matches. Defeat or a draw today would leave them winless in three games for the first time since March 2016.
Nigeria were the first African nation to book their place at this summer's World Cup, doing so with a game to spare despite being drawn in the 'Group of Death' from their section - alongside Algeria and Cameroon, both of whom had been at the past two World Cups.
However, Rohr's side clinched qualification quite comfortably in the end, being one of only two African nations to go through the campaign unbeaten and establishing themselves as the only team from the continent to have reached both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Nigeria have lost just one of their last eight friendlies stretching all the way back to October 2015, winning five of those and drawing two.
The solitary defeat in that time came at the hands of Serbia, and the Super Eagles come into this match without a win in their most recent two friendlies, but that recent run also includes impressive wins over Argentina and Poland, so they can be a very dangerous team on their day.
PREDICTION! Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at Wembley now, which means that it is time for a prediction!
England's recent friendlies have not exactly been hugely exciting affairs, and I don't expect that to suddenly change tonight. The best hope is that a number of players really go for it in an effort to prove to their managers that they deserve a starting role at the World Cup, but it is likely to be a hard-fought game either way. I will go for a narrow home win!
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: England 1-0 Nigeria
These two nations have only faced each other twice before tonight, and just once before at Wembley, way back in 1994 just a few months after Nigeria had made their World Cup debut.
England won on that occasion, with David Platt scoring the only goal of the game for Terry Venables's side, and that remains the only goal that has ever been scored in matches between these two sides.
The only other England vs. Nigeria showdown came at the 2002 World Cup, when the two sides played out a goalless draw in their Group F encounter.
The England team that day included the likes of Campbell, Ferdinand, Cole, Beckham, Scholes and Owen, whereas Nigeria had Jay-Jay Okocha and Joseph Yobo amongst their ranks.
Nigeria are tonight looking for their first ever win and their first ever goal against England, then, and considering England are winless in their last four home friendlies, they may just fancy their chances.
Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr is one of the most experienced coaches in Africa, with the former Bordeaux player and manager having spent time in charge of Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso in addition to Nigeria since 2010.
Right, the players are on their way out and we're almost ready to get going now. Let's have a quick reminder of the team news before we do get started...
ENGLAND STARTING XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Cahill; Trippier, Dier, Lingard, Alli, Young; Kane, Sterling
NIGERIA STARTING XI: Uzoho; Shehu, Troost-Ekong, Balogun, Idowu; Mikel, Obi, Onazi; Moses, Ighalo, Iwobi
Before we get underway at Wembley there will be a minute of applause in memory of two former England players - Ray Wilkins and Ray Wilson.
KICKOFF! Here we go, then! England get us underway at Wembley!
The Nigerian supporters are booing Dele Alli every time he touches the ball - his dad was Nigerian and he was able to play for them, but chose England instead and these fans have not forgiven or forgotten that.
England get forward down the left flank for the first time with Alli finding some space, but his low cross into the box is poor and easily cleared.
Poor refereeing here as two Nigerians clash heads inside their own area - and it looks like a painful one. Lingard is calling for the ref to stop play, but he waits until England win a free kick before calling on the medics.
SAVE! Trippier lines up the resulting free kick and it is a fine effort from the Tottenham full-back, forcing a good stop from the keeper.
GOAL! England 1-0 Nigeria (Gary Cahill)
Just what England would have wanted! The hosts take the lead after just seven minutes, and it is a thumping header from Cahill.
The corner - won from the free kick which shouldn't have been given - is delivered into the middle and Cahill loses his marker before putting a brilliant header right into the top corner.
© Reuters
That is a dream start for England, and the fans will want to see them push on for more now. Nigerian and Brighton fans will be happy to know that Balogun is back on now, meanwhile.
This has been a really good, positive start from England. Another decent move sees the ball slipped into the path of Sterling, who dips inside but sees his effort deflected wide.
CHANCE! The resulting corner again causes problems as this time it is played short to Young, who puts it into the box. The Nigerian keeper parries it back out into a dangerous area, but Stones just cannot react in time to turn it goalwards and eventually Uzoho gathers.
CHANCE! Another chance for the hosts as Alli plays a clever disguised pass down the left channel for Sterling, who turns his marker and finds himself in on goal. He tries to dink his finish past the keeper, but the angle is against him and it goes wide of the far post.
Here is that thumping header from Cahill which separates the two sides at the moment...
Nigeria just cannot get into this game at all at the moment. England are swarming all over them and really pushing for a second goal here.
CHANCE! That second goal does not seem too far away from England here. Moses gives the ball away which sends Sterling darting off, and he exchanges passes with Kane before racing through. He is forced just too far wide to go for goal, but he exchanges passes with Ashley Young to instead set the wing-back up, and he is denied from close range by a fine last-ditch Idowu block.
England win another set piece which Young clips into the box, but this time Nigeria deal with it. England have looked dangerous from those set pieces so far, though.
Sterling has looked sharp in a centre-forward role alongside Kane so far this evening, although his opportunities to finish have so far been wasted and that is still where he needs to improve most at international level in particular.
Nigeria attempt to catch England out with a quick free kick as Obi tries to find Ighalo down the left channel, but the pass is overhit and runs through to Pickford.
For the first time today there is panic at the back for England as they fail to clear their lines, allowing Ighalo to get a shot away. His effort is blocked but bounces to Moses who is coming in from the left flank. Moses cannot get the ball under his control, though, and England do finally manage to clear the danger at the second attempt.
CHANCE! England have just gone off the boil in the last few minutes, but this is more like it from them again as a slick passing move creates a chance for Lingard. It is really good movement from Lingard in the box to get on the end of a low cross, but the keeper is there to deny him from point-blank range.
England pour forward again as Lingard races on to Trippier's pass before trying to pick out Sterling in the middle. It is cut out before it can reach Sterling, though, and perhaps a pull-back to Kane would have been the better option there.
More than half an hour gone now and England will be wondering how they are only one goal ahead at the moment. They have had enough chances to have a bit of a cushion, but the gap remains at one for now.
CHANCE! Another clear chance goes begging for the home side as Sterling beats the offside trap to race through on goal. Trippier is bursting into the box on the opposite flank and would be left with a simple tap-in, but Uzoho reads Sterling's cross and cuts it out before it can reach Trippier.
There have been plenty of positive signs for England in this match so far. They will face better opposition than Nigeria at the World Cup for sure, but Southgate's side have looked sharp and full of running today.
SAVE! Pickford is called into action for the first time this evening as Ighalo tries his luck from a tight angle, but the Everton keeper is never going to be beaten from there.
CHANCE! England immediately burst forward at the other end as Alli races through the middle before giving it to Sterling, who cuts inside only to fire his left-footed effort narrowly over the crossbar.
GOAL! England 2-0 Nigeria (Harry Kane)
England have finally doubled their advantage as Kane blasts his finish through the keeper!
It is poor from Nigeria as they give the ball away just inside their own half, allowing Dier to launch a counter-attack. He gives it to his Spurs teammate Kane, who exchanges passes with Sterling before drilling his finish in from the edge of the box. The keeper should be saving it, but it just beat him for pace.
© Reuters
Almost a quick response from Nigeria as Ighalo looks to be through down the middle, but the ball is just too long for him and Pickford gathers it.
Here is that ferocious finish from Kane for your viewing pleasure...
SAVE! Nigeria haven't had many sights of goal in this first half, but here is another as Moses twists and turns before firing a low strike in which Pickford needs to gather.
There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: England 2-0 Nigeria
The first half comes to an end at Wembley and it is England who will be by far the happier of the two teams going into the break with their 2-0 lead.
The hosts have completely dominated from the first whistle and could well be four or five ahead at the interval, but for some wayward finishing. Hopefully we will see more of the same in the second half!
The opening goal took just seven minutes to arrive when Gary Cahill sent a thumping header into the top corner from Trippier's wicked delivery.
Trippier himself had won the corner with a free kick which needed to be tipped past the post, and Cahill met the corner with an unstoppable header which left both the goalkeeper and the man on the line no chance.
England missed a host of chances to add to that tally as the half wore on, but a second goal finally arrived with just six minutes to go until half time when Kane got his name on the scoresheet.
Dier nicked possession in midfield before giving it to Kane, who exchanged passes with Sterling before drilling a powerful effort through the keeper.
England's movement has really troubled Nigeria, who have barely been in this game at all so far. The likes of Sterling, Lingard and Alli in particular have looked dangerous for the home side.
It will be interesting to see whether Southgate changes too much in this second half as England have played well so far and he will want that to continue, although he doesn't have long left to look at other options before the World Cup.
KICKOFF! Nigeria get us back underway at Wembley, and the visitors have made a couple of changes at the break, with Tyronne Ebuehi and Kenneth Omero replace Shehu and Balogun.
GOAL! England 2-1 Nigeria (Alex Iwobi)
Wow, where has this come from?! Nigeria come flying out of the blocks for this second half and suddenly they are back in the game just two minutes after the restart!
Iwobi dinks a lovely ball through for Ighalo, who wraps his foot around the ball and fires his effort against the post with Pickford beaten. There is an element of luck in that the ball bounces back straight out to Iwobi, who has followed in and sweeps home the rebound.
Suddenly it looks as though England have a game on their hands! They were cruising in the first half, but now it is all Nigeria.
A Nigerian corner is nodded down into a dangerous area, but Kane is there to block it a couple of yards in front of his line.
There are plenty of vocal Nigerian fans inside Wembley tonight, and they are certainly making themselves heard now following this improvement by their team.
YELLOW CARD! Sterling isn't helping himself here. The England man gets a yellow card for diving, and it is the right decision from the referee as he was going down before there was any contact. It looked like it in normal time, and the replay only confirms Sterling's guilt.
Here is that Nigerian goal which has completely changed the complexion of this match...
SHOT! Moses tries his luck from range, but his effort is always rising high and wide of the target. The visitors have upped their tempo a huge amount in this second half, though.
Nigeria have switched to a back three since half time, and England just do not be able to adapt to the new system. The first half was so encouraging for the hosts, but this second half has been worrying so far.
This picture perhaps best sums up Nigeria's change in attitude in this second half. They barely looked interested in winning the ball during open play in the first half, but as soon as that goal went in, two of them tried to wrestle it back from Pickford to get things underway again as quickly as possible.
© Reuters
CHANCE! Another England goal may kill off this Nigeria comeback, and Dier is close to one here with a glancing header which zips wide of the far post. He perhaps should have done better there.
NIGERIA SUB: Change for the visitors here as Ahmed Musa replaces Moses.
This is better from England now. They are just keeping the ball and quelling the Nigerian momentum which has been growing throughout the second half.
Nigeria do burst forward down the right flank here, though, with Ebuehi sprinting clear of Young only to put too much on his cross.
ENGLAND SUBS: England make their first changes of the evening as Danny Rose and Ruben Loftus-Cheek replace Manchester United duo Young and Lingard.
SAVE! Musa shows good pace to get a yard on Walker down the left and put a cross into the box which England can only half clear. The ball eventually arrives at the feet of Mikel, who tries his luck from range, but it is easy enough for Pickford.
Trippier plays the ball through for Loftus-Cheek down the right channel and the sub stands his cross up from the byline. It is too far in front of Kane, though, and Nigeria survive the scare.
ENGLAND SUBS: Another double change for England as Danny Welbeck and Marcus Rashford replace Kane and Sterling.
This will be interesting to see how these two new England strikers perform today as both have played in mostly wider positions at club level this season. There is certainly a lot of pace there.
NIGERIA SUB: Another change for Nigeria as Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Ighalo.
YELLOW CARD! Musa is the second name in the referee's book tonight.
SHOT! Rashford tries his luck from just outside the area, but he doesn't catch it right and drags his finish comfortably wide of the target.
ENGLAND SUB: Another change for England as Fabian Delph replaces Alli.
This is all about game management now, and Southgate may not actually be too upset that Nigeria have made a game of this in the second half. England certainly won't blow teams away every game at the World Cup, so holding on to these narrow leads could be crucial.
CHANCE! Delph clips a cross into the box from deep and Rashford meets it having peeled away from his man. It is an unmarked header, but Rashford doesn't get it right and his effort loops over the crossbar.
This will be an interesting game for Southgate to analyse. His side were very impressive in the first half, but in this second half they have been second best for long spells and a better team than Nigeria could have punished them on a few occasions. Still plenty of work to be done for England.
There will be four minutes of added time at the end of this match.
FULL TIME: England 2-1 Nigeria
England hold on for the victory at Wembley, then, but that was a game of two halves for
Gareth Southgate's side and there will be plenty for him to dissect ahead of their final warm-up game against Costa Rica.
The hosts were dominant in the first half and could have gone into the break with plenty more than their two-goal advantage - given to them by Cahill and Kane. However, an Alex Iwobi goal within two minutes of the restart set the tone for a vastly-improved Nigeria display in the second half, and in the end it was anything but plain sailing for England.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as England beat Nigeria in their penultimate match before this summer's World Cup. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
