England vs Nigeria - World Cup 2018 warm-up: as it happened
England 2-1 Nigeria: Reaction from the World Cup warm-up at Wembley
Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
England’s World Cup 2018 campaign starts here, when Nigeria, clad in their dazzling new kit which sold out within minutes of its release on Friday, arrive at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate has insisted the team he names will not necessarily be the one that starts the World Cup against Tunisia on 18th June but there are places still up for grabs.
Jordan Pickford starts between the sticks with Jesse Lingard part of an attacking midfield that also includes Raheem Sterling after a controversial and headline-grabbing week.
We will have all the action right here:
Please allow a moment for the blog to load…
What time is kick-off?
The game will kick off at Wembley at 5.15pm BST.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be shown on ITV, with coverage starting at 5.00pm BST.
Odds?
England: 2/5
Nigeria: 19/2
Odds: 62/17
The staggered ending to the season means workload and fatigue are likely to figure high in team selection.
Liverpool pair Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold will play no part having been granted time off following the Champions League, while the FA Cup finalists from Manchester United and Chelsea may be treated with kid gloves after their own extra exertions.
That could mean opportunity knocks for other members of the squad who have found themselves further down the pecking order in previous get togethers.
In Raheem Sterling England have a versatile, Premier League title-winning player coming off the back of his most prolific season in front of goal.
Everything should be pointing towards a defining summer with the national team.
But the front-page treatment of the gun tattoo on his right leg has once again weighed the talented forward down with unconnected criticisms.
How much the row has affected him, or otherwise, may become apparent over 90 minutes.
The age old policy of arranging friendlies who are geographically close to tournament opponents continues to be rolled out around the globe - see Panama lining up Northern Ireland as their Three Lions proxies earlier this week.
Nigeria, therefore, represent stand-ins for England's Group G African opponents Tunisia.
Expect to see some hints about Southgate's proposed tactics for that tournament curtain-raiser, in terms of tactics, system and style.
Here's the England team.
As expected Jordan Pickford starts in goal with Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young on the flanks and Eric Dier, Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli in the middle of the park.
Raheem Sterling starts up top alongside skipper Harry Kane.
Let's unpack that then.
It's an attacking line-up from Southgate with Lingard, Alli and Sterling all involved.
It looks like he's sticking with the 3-5-2 he's used in the last four friendlies with Sterling the most advanced alongside Kane.
Trippier plays on the right with Trent Alexander-Arnold still yet to arrive following Liverpool's Champions League exploits.
Pickford has first use of the gloves. Is that an omen for the summer?
The atmosphere is building outside Wembley now.
The half-half scarf salesmen are doing a roaring trade.
Plenty of interest in this one, from both sides.
Let's talk about that kit. It's the talk of world football and it gets it's first outing this evening.
Nike describe it as: "A tribute to their 1994 debut on the world stage, the 2018 home kit features the traditional green torso, with the Super Eagles-inspired black and white sleeves.
"To modernise the shirt, the feather pattern has been abstracted, and the colours updated for a bold look on the pitch.
"Turned into an international phenomenon by artists Wizkid, Skepta and Not3s, the 2018 Nigeria home kit was iconic before it even took the pitch."
It's certainly proved popular. Over three million were pre-ordered and it sold out in minutes.
Despite that there a fair few on show at Wembley today.
The skipper is here.
Not long to wait until kick-off now with the action now just around the corner.
The atmosphere is building for what should be an entertaining encounter.
Nigeria aren't here to make up the numbers by any means- they mean business.
"We have a lot of great players who have a lot of personality," vice-captain Ogenyi Onazi said ahead of today's game.
"We have talents outside of football. I play the drums, I play the bass guitar.
"It is a game everybody has been looking up to. Everyone is waiting for this game."
As we've already discussed Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold aren't involved this evening after Liverpool's efforts in Kiev a week ago.
Both are here though and will be watching on with the rest of us.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies