Gareth Southgate and Kyle Walker have hit out at the British media after pictures of England’s planned team for the World Cup clash with Panama Football this Sunday were published, with assistant manager Steve Holland walking around training with the line-up written on a piece of paper.
The team, which could be seen clearly during England’s training session on Thursday, has led manager Southgate to query whether the media are behind England’s World Cup campaign, while Walker echoed his comments by suggesting the pictures should not have been published.
"It doesn't bother me in the slightest,” Southgate said on Talksport. “It is a squad of 23 names on the sheet, the next sheet has different players in different positions because we swap people in and swap people out. The stories are then run as they are. For me, no drama.
"Obviously any time, if we were to give the opposition the opportunity of having our team it's a disadvantage to us. So of course our media has to decide whether they want to help the team or not.
"Given that was just a squad list, it doesn't make any difference to us really."
England know that a victory on Sunday will give them safe passage through to the last-16 with a game to spare, easing the pressure that will be on the final Group G game against Belgium next Thursday.
If the squad sheet is anything to go by, Southgate will make changes on Sunday with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcus Rashford set to come into the side, although the defence looked likely to remain intact with Walker again playing at centre-back.
Speaking shortly after Southgate, Walker said: "I think if you guys try to keep it to yourself and don't bring it out to the world, because it's not going to help us come the later stages of the tournament, please God we get there. All the rest of the world's seen our team now, if that is the team or if not...
"As I say, you guys have to do your little bit, so if you could just please help us with that it would be polite."
Walker also added that Holland had apologised for the slip-up. "He's apologised to us all in training, which we had a bit of banter with him about, and that was it - we knocked it on the head at that," Walker said.
