England line up vs Panama: World Cup XI plans revealed by mistake

Gareth Southgate is considering dropping Raheem Sterling and starting both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcus Rashford against Panama on Sunday.

England are expected to be forced into at least one change from the team that beat Tunisia after Dele Alli sat out training here this morning with a thigh problem.

The FA confirmed last night that a scan revealed the Tottenham midfielder had sustained a muscular problem and England have begun planning without him for their second Group G match in Nizhny Novgorod.

Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland was pictured clutching notes outlining possible line-ups at today’s session in Repino. Both Loftus-Cheek and Rashford have been included, alongside the players who started Monday’s opening match in Volgograd. Intriguingly, England will also look at playing Sterling in a deeper midfield role.

The players were kept guessing over the starting line-up for England’s opener until the day before the game, so nothing definitive can be drawn from the notes.

But Sterling could now be fretting over his place after fading against Tunisia. The Manchester City forward made a bright start but missed an open goal and struggled to make an impact in the second half. He was replaced by Rashford, with Southgate offering a consoling arm around him as he trudged off.

The manager defended Sterling after his performance — the 21st consecutive international he has gone without scoring — saying he was “really pleased with the performance he gave — his touch, his movement”.

However, Rashford and Loftus-Cheek impressed in their brief cameos and both are now serious contenders to play in a match which will book England’s place in the last 16 if they win and Tunisia fail to beat Belgium.

Loftus-Cheek’s inclusion would be a huge show of faith in a player with just five senior caps to his name. He spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, scoring twice in 25 appearances, and played well in both warm-up games, against Nigeria and Costa Rica.

Rashford scored a stunning goal against the latter and injected fresh impetus against Tunisia as England went in search of a winning goal, duly provided in stoppage-time by Harry Kane.

Southgate led by example at this morning’s session, showing no ill effects from the dislocated shoulder he suffered while out running yesterday.

The 47-year-old took the session as normal and was not wearing a sling he was pictured with yesterday evening while addressing the players after having received treatment in a St Petersburg hospital and from team doctor Rob Chakraverty.

“I might not be celebrating any goals as athletically in future,” said Southgate. “The doctor has made it clear that punching the air is not an option.”