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Tottenham Hotspur defender Matt Doherty has urged England manager Gareth Southgate to start Eric Dier in the team's FIFA World Cup clash against the USA tonight (November 25).
Dier played 20 minutes in the Three Lions' 6-2 win against Iran on November 21. He came on as a substitute for Harry Maguire, who was ill.
The Spurs defender was out of Southgate's squad for a while before returning to the squad for the UEFA Nations League in September. Dier will now hope to get more playing time and help England go deep at the World Cup.
Previewing today's World Cup fixtures, Doherty said that Southgate needs to start Dier against the USA because of his passing range. He said on Tottenham's website:
"England-USA is probably the game of the day - well, not probably, definitely! England will continue like they did the other day against Iran, but will USA also be as good as they were against Wales? I think it’s going to be a close game, but I think England will win, and the best USA can hope for is a draw."
He added:
"Hopefully Harry is fit and Eric plays, come on Gareth, get Eric in! England need him spraying balls around from the back. His time is coming!"
With Wales losing 2-0 against Iran today, the Three Lions will confirm their place in the knockouts with a game to go by beating the USA.
England manager Gareth Southgate on facing USA in 2022 FIFA World Cup
Ahead of the game against the Stars and the Stripes, Southgate said that England's focus is on qualifying from their FIFA World Cup group.
The Three Lions have never beaten the USA in a major tournament. While the England manager insisted that they need to respect their opponents, he's confident of his team's chances of a win. Southgate said (via BBC Sport):
"If we win we qualify and the first objective is to qualify from the group. We have three matches to do so, and if it takes all three, we have to be ready for that. Have we ever beaten the States in a major tournament? No, so we have to try to make history. We're good at talking highly of ourselves as a nation with no evidence so we need to perform well."
He added:
"We will play a highly motivated team and have huge respect for the opponents. We know their players and the quality and athleticism they have so we have to be at our best - I don't think we will be underestimating USA."
USA played out a 1-1 draw against Wales in their 2022 FIFA World Cup opener on November 21.
Meanwhile, England drew 1-1 against the USA at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the group stages. This was 60 years after they had suffered a shock 1-0 defeat in the 1950 edition at the same stage, then known as the first round.
