Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon is pushing for an England debut against Brazil tonight.

Elsewhere, Ollie Watkins is in line to replace the injured Harry Kane as England’s lone striker while Conor Gallagher is pushing for a start alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield.

With Kane unavailable, right-back Kyle Walker could captain the team as he did against North Macedonia in November.

With the likes of Kane, Jordan Henderson, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer not fit enough to play, Southgate has seen his options decimated.

That is set to open the door to Gordon, who has impressed at St James’ Park this season.

Watkins leading the line is also an intriguing dynamic ahead of the clash at Wembley.

On his selection problem, Southgate said: ‘Everybody across the league has a high number of injuries but it is always more complex.

‘Everyone wants a simple solution to complex problems. Some players have been unfortunate. Kane’s injury was when he crashed into the net at the weekend and it forced a mechanism with his ankle.

‘He had a winter break and is not playing in our league. So players have had runs of injuries, some of have played too many games too quickly after injuries so there is a whole range and raft for injuries but clearly the intensity of the games and additional minutes…

‘We have a long list of 40-odd players and a third are unavailable for tomorrow’s game which is the highest we have ever had.’