The many dilemmas of Gareth Southgate ahead of Germany showdown - The Warm-Up

It’s 20 years, nine months and three days since Emile Heskey danced through the German backline in Munich and sunk the naughtiest of putts. Michael Owen had a hat-trick, England had five, Germany just one, and it remains the standout away performance the Three Lions have ever mustered.

Flash forward to the present and a lot has changed. For one, England are legit better than Germany. There is no need for blind optimism anymore – this crop of players may have flaws, but they are among the favourites for the World Cup on merit. Second, England have become much more boring. Despite their embarrassing riches in attack, Gareth Southgate has pinned his faith in Operation Grind Out The 1-0. And fail to grind out that 1-0 when it really matters.

Tonight, England return to German soil for their first competitive outing against their old rivals – well, sort of competitive outing – since that day in Munich. The sides meet in the UEFA Nations League, with England bottom of Group A3 after the abject behind-closed-doors defeat in Hungary in front of 36,000 fans. And for the first time in a long time – even predating that victory under Sven – an England manager has a flood of selection dilemmas.

The first XI always used to pick itself, save for the occasional ‘should it be Jermain Defoe or Peter Crouch?’ All Fabio Capello had to worry about was wiping the nickname culture of Stevie G, Becks, JT and Lamps. For Roy Hodgson, it was ‘is now a good time to ask Wayne Rooney to retire?’ For Sam Allardyce, it was ‘can I down this pint of wine in one go?’

But Southgate has a lot more to weigh up. If FIFA’s incredibly smart, and in no way reckless, initial plan had gone ahead then the World Cup would start THIS FRIDAY in the completely palatable 45 degree heat of Qatar. Fortunately for everyone, and especially Southgate, there are five bonus months while the Middle East cools down to get everything in order.

Can Southgate trust Harry Maguire? Hell, can he trust anyone in his defence? Who scores the goals if Harry Kane’s ankle goes? Is Jack Grealish trustworthy now Manchester City decided he is worth £100m? Bukayo Saka or Jadon Sancho? Time to throw in Jude Bellingham and/or Aaron Ramsdale? Why can’t Trent Alexander-Arnold at least pretend to be the Liverpool Trent Alexander-Arnold?

So many questions, five Nations League matches to answer them…

Mohamed Salah apparently rejected a plea from Liverpool to have a scan before Egypt’s match with Guinea on Sunday, his national boss Ehab Galal has claimed.

“Salah was suffering from an injury and played through it,” Galal said after the 1-0 win.

“He rejected Liverpool's request for an X-ray before the game and will now undergo it.”

Liverpool’s concern is understandable. Salah hobbled off after just 32 minutes of the FA Cup final, missed the next Premier League match, only made a cameo from the bench on the final day of the season, then was invisible in the Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

Now we have no idea where this X-ray revelation ranks on the scale of ‘slap on the wrist’ to ‘capital punishment’, but it does seem that Galal has unnecessarily stirred the pot here. And, we must admit, we love it.

It's got to be, hasn't it.

We can't bask in Michael Owen's hat-trick in Munich without also mentioning, without comment, that his daughter Gemma has entered the Love Island villa.

Russian and Espanyol striker Nadya Karpova gives an extraordinarily brave interview with the BBC in Barcelona. Karpova has been very outspoken about the war in Ukraine and posts anti-war messages almost daily on social media.

Germany v England, of course, and a host of other UEFA Nations League matches including Italy v Hungary. Oh, and UAE face Australia for a spot at the World Cup!