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England vs Nigeria: Pre-World Cup Friendly live scores, blog

2nd June, 2018

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England vs Nigeria

International Friendly

Wembley Stadium, London
England Nigeria
2 SCORE 1
9 Shots on Goal 11
4 Shots on target 3
5 Corners 2
0 Yellow Cards 0
Where: Wembley Stadium
When: 2:15am AEST
Gareth Southgate, Manager of England looks on during a training session at St Georges Park on May 28, 2018 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
2nd June, 2018
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Preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Origin go into overdrive when FIFA 13th ranked England take on the 47th ranked Nigeria at Wembley Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 2:15am (AEST).

There’s something nostalgic about international football at Wembley Stadium on a summer’s afternoon. It’s enough to make an English fan’s blood flow just that bit faster.

On a summer’s afternoon in 1966 at this same venue, England scored their one and only World Cup final win, defeating West Germany 4-2 after extra time.

Although the atmosphere for this friendly is sure to be relaxed, the crowd should be mightily entertained in a game between two 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

England manager Gareth Southgate has already picked his 23-man squad for Russia but the battle for starting spots is well and truly on.

One of the biggest selection conundrums is in the midfield between Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard. Southgate has indicated Lingard will start and expect him to put in a good showing.

Although Southgate has kept most of his selections for this game close to his chest, any one of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy or Marcus Rashford would trouble the Nigerian defence.

The England squad is more youthful than at previous World Cups. Their average age is the 3rd youngest in England’s World Cup history.

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One of those young players, Manchester City ace Raheem Stirling, has recently been in the news for more than just his footballing prowess.

A tattoo of a gun on his leg had raised a few eyebrows but the English team management has been quick to support Stirling’s personal choices.

Who starts in goals for England’s World Cup Group G opener against Tunisia in Volgograd is still up for grabs.

Joe Hart has been left out of the squad and Southgate has to choose between Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope. It will be interesting to see who starts against Nigeria.

The Nigerians will take the field in their new World Cup strip that has turned heads around the world. There were over three million pre-orders for the distinctive green and white kit.

People were queing at the Nike store in London for hours on the day of release. In the Nigerian capital, Lagos, fakes have been flooding the market.

Nigeria, who open their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Kaliningrad, will be led out by ex-Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel, currently playing with Tianjin in the Chinese Super League. Another player worth keeping an eye on will be Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho.

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Prediction
England will be looking to get their World Cup preparations off to a good start and with players out to impress manager Gareth Southgate, a big performance from the home team is to be expected. However, given the occasion, and with decent support from people wearing the new kits, I’m sure Nigeria will spoil the party.

Draw 2-2.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this World Cup warm up fixture from 2:15am (AEST) and don’t forget to add in a few thoughts in the comments section below.

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