Rio Ferdinand wants Gareth Southgate to be 'brave' and play Jadon Sancho

Rio Ferdinand has urged England manager Gareth Southgate to move away from his conservative style of management and unleash the talented young players at his disposal, such as Jadon Sancho.

The Three Lions have not had the best start to their European Championship campaign. They beat Croatia 1-0 in their opening game and then played out a goalless draw against traditional rivals Scotland.

England has already qualified for the last 16 and will take on Czech Republic in their final group game on Tuesday - it will determine which team finishes on top of Group D. The England manager will want to end on a high ahead of the knockout rounds.

Southgate's team struggled to create clear cut chances against Scotland and despite that, Sancho was left on the bench. The Borussia Dortmund attacker has found himself out of the team for both matches thus far, despite his impressive showing for the Bundesliga club not only this past season, but also in the last three campaigns.

The England manager justified his team selection by suggesting that the likes of Sancho do not have the experience of playing in big tournaments under pressure. The Manchester United legend has questioned the manager's justification by pointing out Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount's involvement, all three are on the same boat in terms of tournament experience.

"There's inexperienced players that haven't been to tournaments, they're everywhere," Ferdinand said during his appearance in his Five YouTube channel. "Sancho has been the second best player in terms of goal involvement over the last three years – and he's done it at Dortmund."

"So to think that you're talking about experience... he's played more games than [Phil] Foden at the top level as well as [Mason] Mount and [Jude] Bellingham."

Ferdinand has urged Southgate to get out of his comfort zone and be brave in terms of the team selection going forward.

"I just feel that sometimes as a manager you've got to be brave. You've got to be brave and don't err on the side of caution," Ferdinand added. "In Southgate's own mind he's going to have to be brave because I think naturally he's a more conservative person."

Southgate is likely to make changes to the squad, especially with England having already qualified for the knockout stages of the competition. Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson could make an appearance with both players keen to prove their fitness.