The interim manager was considering playing Marcus Rashford from the start on Friday evening and will include captain Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott in an attack-minded side against one of European football’s smaller minnows.
It will be Southgate’s first direct involvement at Wembley since playing in Kevin Keegan’s ignominious exit as England manager against Germany.
But speaking on the 16th anniversary of that particular low point, Southgate insisted that his players should go out into a packed national stadium with no fear to put the disappointment of Euro 2016 behind them.
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“Any England team that goes out, I want them to play with style,” he said. “Winning is the ultimate aim, but that will be a consequence of the performance and our work every day.
“I think the players are getting an understanding of my beliefs on how I want an England team to play, and that is one of the most important message for me to get across.
“I want them to be brave and excite the supporters. We have followed that from the junior teams all the way through.
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“I think people will genuinely want to see the team do well, they are excited by a young team with great potential.
“I know a game went against them in the summer, which was difficult for everyone to take, but people recognise the quality is there and people have pride in playing for England. That’s what I have seen this week.
“They do want to make the country proud and are frustrated by what happened in the summer, but the only way to restore that is to build up consistent performances.”
Southgate appeared to be referring to Keegan when he claimed that in his own experience some previous England managers had stifled the team with their own anxieties.
“When I played with England we had a couple of managers who I felt allowed us to be as good as we might be,” he said. “A couple you sensed were more worried about you making mistakes. That puts doubt in the players’ minds.
“These guys have huge talent and huge potential, and I want them to go and fulfil that. There’s enough surrounding any game that puts doubt in your mind. We have to focus on what they do every day to transfer it out on to the field.”
Southgate, who has only committed to being in charge for the next four internationals, has one worry, however, after Gary Cahill withdrew from training yesterday due to illness.
With fellow centre-back Phil Jagielka already having headed home with injury, he will assess the Chelsea defender’s condition this morning before deciding whether to call up cover for the game in Slovenia on Tuesday.