Gary Lineker interrupts Micah Richards over Ollie Watkins and England shout - 'Hang on...'

Ollie Watkins will be hoping he can start England's final group game, with the Aston Villa star so far only coming off the bench in the World Cup.

Despite the qualities that the Englishman has, he will know that there will be no path forward to usurping captain Harry Kane.

But the game against Panama could be his best chance at getting the nod over the Bayern Munich striker.

The Three Lions need just one point to guarantee their place in the top two of Group L, due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

So, there is much less jeopardy riding on the game against the CONCACAF nation and with plenty of games coming in short bursts, Tuchel would be best resting his top stars.

And now Micah Richards has issued a shout over Watkins' England chances, which has left Gary Lineker quite amused.

Micah Richards caught between two minds on Ollie Watkins

During England's game against Ghana, Richards could not help himself in bantering Lineker on Netflix's The Rest is Football.

The former Villa man was desperate for Kane to score as he would break Lineker's record as England's all-time top World Cup goalscorer.

However, despite that, Richards later went on to suggest Kane should be rested with Watkins tipped to start over him against Panama after the skipper failed to score.

Richards said: "I'd make changes. I'd definitely start Marcus Rashford. If Bukayo Saka's fit I'd go with him.

"I'd give Watkins a run-out - as you go deeper you have to get the strikers firing, give Harry Kane a bit of a rest. I'd also go with Rogers."

After what had happened during the game, Lineker was having none of what Richards was saying.

He replied stating: "Hang on, I'm going to interrupt you there... you just begged for Kane to score [and beat my record]."

As things stand, both strikers are on 10 goals in 12 World Cup appearances.

But Watkins will selfishly be hoping that Kane does not get as much of a chance to break it against Panama.

Why Watkins faces tough evening against Panama

England struggled against Ghana due to the low block the Black Stars deployed.

And against Panama, they will likely face the same making it a tough evening for the Villa forward if called upon.

Panama have conceded just two goals in their last two World Cup games in narrow 1-0 losses.

While they have also limited both Ghana and Croatia to less shots than the CONCACAF side have taken themselves.

Ghana had just seven attempts while Croatia were limited to just six. While Panama had 11 and eight in those two games.

England will need Watkins to be on form as the tournament progresses and while statistically it is not ideal on paper, it is likely the last opportunity for Tuchel to roll the dice in the World Cup.

There will certainly be games where the Three Lions are desperate for more firepower and playing Watkins into form is a smart idea.

So, Richards is certainly bang on over his Watkins shout but Lineker's point also still stands after his antics during the Ghana game.