Football news - Gareth Southgate considers change in formation for youthful England

England have enjoyed great success so far under Southgate by using a 3-5-2, a system that helped them reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

However according to a report from The Telegraph ahead of the match against Croatia on Friday, which will be played behind closed doors in Rijeka, Southgate is considering moving to a 4-3-3.

Reportedly the 3-5-2 was only seen as a temporary measure and Southgate, who recently signed a new contract until 2022, feels that England need to move to the 4-3-3 to give them greater opportunities when they play against some of the best sides in the world.

That could mean a start for Chelsea's Ross Barkley, whose fine start to the season at Chelsea saw him rewarded with a call-up, but Tottenham Hotspur's Kieran Trippier may miss out if former club team-mate Kyle Walker moves back to right-back.

Southgate has also defended his decision to call-up a number of younger players into his squad, insisting that it is not an experiment.

James Maddison (21), Mason Mount (19) and Jadon Sancho (18) all received their first call-ups during this break and the average age of the squad is just 23.56.

At 28 Jordan Henderson, Kyle Walker and Trippier are the oldest players in the squad with uncapped Lewis Dunk the fifth-oldest player in the squad.

"It's not experimentation. They are players we believe in," Southgate said at a press conference.

"OK, they are relatively inexperienced at the highest level but players we have enjoyed working with and they have shown in training this week they can handle this level."