Kobbie Mainoo and Ivan Toney are expected to have a chance to impress from the start against Belgium as England look to improve on a pretty tepid showing against Brazil.

This evening’s game at Wembley is England’s second and final game of the March international break; their next fixture is against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3 when Euro 2024 excitement will be building.

Declan Rice captains England on the night he wins his 50th cap, though Arsenal fans will be watching anxiously in the hope he comes through the game unscathed with Sunday’s key Premier League game at Man City looming.

With Jordan Henderson injured and Kalvin Phillips’ form down the drain, many England fans have Rice, Mainoo and Jude Bellingham as their ideal midfield trio for this summer’s tournament in Germany.

There is a clamour for Phil Foden to be used as part of a midfield three, but that risks leaving England exposed and bogging Bellingham down in deeper areas. Two solid midfielders behind Bellingham, who has played as a roving forward for Real Madrid, could be the way to go and in this case Southgate’s pragmatism is probably justified.

England need much better from Ben Chilwell, their only fit specialist left-back, while Ezri Konsa is likely to continue at right-back with Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James all injured.

Belgium’s last match was a goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, which even manager Domenico Tedesco admitted was “boring”. Belgium look to be in a transitional period, with Toby Alderweireld, Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard all retiring from international football (in Hazard’s case, all football) in the last few years. Jan Vertonghen, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne may be heading the same way. There is a nucleus of young talent in Amadou Onana, Jeremie Doku and Johan Bakayoko, but this squad does not look of the same vintage as their 2018 World Cup semi-finalists.