England face Belgium on Tuesday night in their final friendly before Gareth Southgate names his 23-man squad for Euro 2024.
With mounting injuries and defeat to Brazil on Saturday, Southgate has plenty to consider heading into the clash with the Red Devils.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the game.
Rice is right for EnglandTuesday’s game could be a big one for several players still aiming to stake their claim for a spot on the plane to Germany this summer.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is already assured of his seat but the fixture is still one he will always remember as he collects a 50th cap, with Southgate also confirming the player would captain England for the first time.
Rice has labelled it as a “pinch me” moment as his memorable season continues to go from strength to strength.
Setting the ToneyWith captain and all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane returning to Bayern Munich for treatment on an ankle injury, the race to be his back-up at the European Championship hots up.
Kane sat out the defeat to Brazil, where Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins played the whole game as the striker in Southgate’s set-up.
Ivan Toney, back from an eight-month ban for breaching the Football Association betting rules, will now be hoping he gets a similar chance to impress with only one of the two likely to get the nod this summer.
A case for the defenceSouthgate conceded he has never suffered an injury crisis like the one that has besieged him during the current international break.
A number of players were already unavailable for selection before others dropped out at different stages of the camp.
All in all, it means the defence against Belgium is likely to contain a number of unfamiliar names, with the likes of Jarred Branthwaite, Ezri Konsa and Rico Lewis all in contention.
Will Red Devils roar at Wembley?England are looking to avoid back-to-back Wembley defeats for the first time since 2013 as the side third in FIFA’s world rankings face the one sat in fourth.
Southgate has only won one of his four previous meetings against Belgium, with one of those three defeats coming in the 2018 World Cup third-placed play-off.
The England boss says there has been “a big evolution” in Tuesday night’s opponents since Russia but still expects Domenico Tedesco’s side “to test us in every area of the game”.
150 up for SouthgateWhile Rice will be rightly toasting his own achievement, Southgate will quietly reach a landmark moment of his own on Tuesday.
Having played 57 times for his country, the former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender will take charge of the senior England team for the 93rd time – totalling 150 matches.
True to form, Southgate will be putting any talk of his own accolades on the back-burner as he ramps up preparations for his fifth major tournament at the helm.
Ancelotti: 'Just a matter of time' until Mbappe breaks goal drought
Carlo Ancelotti insists "it is just a matter of time" until Kylian Mbappe breaks his goal drought, with the Real Madrid forward having failed to find the net in his last four appearances.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward has endured a tricky start to life with Los Blancos since making the switch as a free agent.
Despite scoring eight goals in 16 appearances across all competitions, Mbappe is yet to truly catch fire at Santiago Bernabeu, where his displays have been subjected to widespread criticism.
The France forward has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04, while he was left out of Les Bleus' squad for their recent Nations League matches after going over 400 minutes without scoring.
Mbappe is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes in his final campaign with PSG, but Ancelotti is confident the tables will turn.
"It happens to all great strikers," the Italian told reporters ahead of Madrid's clash with Leganes on Sunday. "He can get frustrated, but that's not his case. I see him motivated and happy to train with his team-mates.
"Sooner or later, he will break that streak of games in which he hasn't scored goals. Tomorrow, he will have a great game because it is just a matter of time. He has incredible quality and, sooner or later, he will show it."
Ancelotti also addressed suggestions Mbappe should be switched from the central attacking position to the left wing, in place of top scorer Vinicius Junior.
"I don't think Kylian has ever asked me for a position on the pitch, everyone wants to start in the starting 11," Los Blancos' head coach added. "But Mbappe and Vinicius don't have a fixed position on the pitch. It all depends on the match."
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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