Match: Slovenia v England
Date: 11 October, Tuesday
Time: 2:45am SGT (Wednesday)/12:15am IST (Wednesday)/7:45pm BST
Venue: Stozice Stadium
Competition: 2018 Fifa World Cup Qualifier
TV Coverage: In Singapore, the TV coverage of the clash between Slovenia and England will be on Eleven Singapore.
Overview
Slovenia host England in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying Group F fixture at the Stozice Stadium on October 11.
England had a successful outing under newly-appointed caretaker manager Gareth Southgate against Malta on Saturday. Goals from Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli made sure the Three Lions snatched three points at the Wembley.
Southgate has come up with a bold decision of dropping captain Wayne Rooney to the bench for their trip to Slovenia. The former Middlesbrough manager reportedly maintained the move was not on the basis of the Manchester United star's recent goal drought but a tactical one.
Notably, Rooney also started from the bench in his last three appearances for Jose Mourinho's United. Jordan Henderson will be the on-field captain on Tuesday. The Liverpool midfielder will be joined by Tottenham star Eric Dier.
The team's all-time scorer, with 53 goals, rued missing the chance to start in Slovenia but lauded Henderson and said he would be supporting the team to grab a win on Tuesday.
"It is football. He has got 23 players to select from. I have played 13 years non-stop for England and given everything and the time comes when you are not the first name on the team sheet," Rooney was quoted as saying by the Reuters.
"He [Henderson] has great leadership qualities and he deserves his chance. He has taken a difficult job from [former captain] Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and grown into the position."
Despite not having Rooney, Southgate has Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, Theo Walcott and Marcus Rashford as attacking options. Jesse Lingard is likely to retain his place as well.
Having beaten Slovenia in all four of their earlier meetings, England are looking primed to continue their dominance.
However, the hosts will take confidence from their 1-0 win over Slovakia on Saturday. They began their qualifying campaign with a 2-2 draw against Lithuania and are placed third in the group behind England and Scotland.
Slovenia's backline impressed with the way they held off Slovakia playmaker Marek Hamsik. Coach Srecko Katanec opined his side have to play their best against England, who have better speed and quality than their Saturday's opponents.
"I warned the guys against too much euphoria are the Slovakia result. England has a lot more quality in every way. The team functions very well and we expect a tough match in every aspect," Katanec was quoted as saying by The Sky Sports.
"England have very quick players and very fast in transition from defence to attack. But we don't need to be afraid of the game or afraid to lose."
TV Schedule
Singapore: Eleven Singapore
Malaysia: Astro SuperSport 3
India: Sony ESPN
Bangladesh: Sony ESPN
Bhutan: Sony ESPN
US: ESPN3 USA
UK: ITV 1 UK
Team News
Slovenia
Possible XI: Jan Oblak; Josip Ilicic, Rene Krhin, Bostjan Cesar, Miral Samardzic; Rok Kronaveter, Valter Birsa, Bojan Jokic, Roman Bezjak; Benjamin Verbic, Aljaz Struna
England
Possible XI: Joe Hart; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill, Danny Rose; Theo Walcott, Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard; Daniel Sturridge
