After a year with empty stadiums having fans back in the stands supporting England is a joy to behold. Here’s hoping the match and atmosphere reflects that feeling:

Aged 23 years and 218 days, Marcus Rashford is the youngest player to start a match as England captain since Michael Owen (23y 179d) vs Slovakia in June 2003, which was also at the Riverside Stadium.

Sam Johnstone is set to become the seventh goalkeeper to pick up an England cap while playing for West Brom, with the Baggies having more different goalkeepers play for the Three Lions than any other club side.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the tournament there is at least one more space in the 26-man squad for Gareth Southgate to fill but who will he choose?

Romania face England this evening on the back of three consecutive defeats having missed out on a place at Euro 2020.

They are 43rd in Fifa’s world rankings which is 39 places lower than England but in 11 meetings the Three Lions have won just twice with their last victory coming in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

They are currently on a seven game winless run against Romania who have a couple of familiar names in their squad.

Captain and defender Vlad Chiriches made 27 Premier League appearances for Tottenham between 2013-2015, while Rangers forward Ianis Hagi is on the substitutes bench.

Jordan Henderson is one of the most experienced members of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros. He hasn’t featured in any capacity since undergoing groin surgery in February.

As a Champions League and Premier League winner as well as being a part of England’s successful 2018 World Cup campaign Henderson’s experience could be crucial in guiding Southgate’s young squad through the tournament.

Yet there are still doubts over his match fitness and how many games he will actually play for England. The Liverpool midfielder is expected to play a part in today’s fixture with Romania and Southgate himself says things are looking positive.

“The last two, three days training have been a lot more positive for him [Henderson]. He’s been visibly happier within himself and that’s a positive sign,” said the England manager.

Questions over Gareth Southgate’s tactical ability still need to be answered but no-one can question the job he has done to create a unified and welcome atmosphere for his players.

In the match against Austria last week England’s players took the knee before kick off, as they have done all season for their respective clubs, and they were met with a chorus of boos from fans in attendance. The boos were eventually drowned out with cheers but they still happened.

Southgate told the media that his players were determined to continue taking the knee throughout this summer’s European Championship:

Gareth Southgate says England’s future is “really exciting” as he prepares to lead the Three Lions into Euro 2020.

Southgate has injury concerns for several of his experienced players such as Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire but believes his young players can impress at the tournament.

17-year-old Jude Bellingham has impressed for Borussia Dortmund this season and more than held his own against Austria last Wednesday. 19-year-old Bukayo Saka has been one of Arsenal’s success stories and 19-year-old Mason Greenwood was hitting decent form before he had to pull out of the squad due to injury.

“Some of them have 10 caps or more at a young age,” said Southgate, “In the long term that will be really beneficial.”

Marcus Rashford captains the Three Lions against Romania tonight. With the plethora of attacking options for Gareth Southgate to choose from Rashford’s position in the starting XI against Croatia isn’t guaranteed.

He looked tired and underpar in the Europa League final for Manchester United but has the chance to play himself into the team with a good performance tonight. Can he lead from the front this evening?