Curtis Jones is set to start up front when England Under 21s face Croatia on Tuesday night.
The Liverpool midfielder came on as a second-half substitute against France on Saturday and grabbed a goal and an assist as the Young Lions ran out 4-0 winners at the King Power Stadium. Noni Madueke, Jacob Ramsey and Emile Smith Rowe also struck for Lee Carsley's side.
As a reward, Jones is expected to play down the middle for England's final game before the U21s European Championship this summer. Aston Villa forward Cameron Archer, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough, started the win over France but Jones impressed when he came on in the central role.
Archer is the Young Lions' only recognised striker in the squad after Folarin Balogun pulled out of the camp through injury. However, it was reported that the Arsenal loanee then went and travelled to the USA to undergo talks over representing the Star and Stripes at international level.
USA boss Anthony Hudson said: "As I've said before, we've had dialogue. We've spoken. He's out here having a bit of a break and then some training, and we've had some discussions.
"I think it's been good because it's been an opportunity for us just to share about our program and who we are and what we do and that's it. I hope we get the chance to speak to him again. It's been good and I know a few of the guys have spoken to him as well."
Balogun, who has scored 18 goals in 27 appearances while on loan at Will Still's Reims this season, was born in New York and is eligible to play for the country of his birth. This is because he hasn't yet made a senior appearance for England and was snubbed for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
Ivan Toney was preferred as the second central striker in the squad alongside Harry Kane. There were some calls for Balogun to get a look-in given his form for Reims in Ligue 1, but Southgate opted with the Brentford striker as Ollie Watkins, Callum Wilson and Eddie Nketiah were also left out.
Balogun's absence from England U21s duty means Jones will have to step up and play as the No.9. This will come as a blow for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, who may have hoped Jones would get some minutes in midfield ahead of the run-in.
Jones has struggled for game time at the Reds this season, starting just one Premier League game. That came in the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest in October and the 22-year-old has since failed to make a mark on the Liverpool side.
But Klopp may need Jones to step up and help Liverpool achieve Champions League qualification given their issues in midfield this term. James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are all out of contract in the summer and Jones could use the final 12 league games to prove to Klopp he should part of their plans for next season.
Playing him up front against Croatia will give Jones experience of playing in a different position, but with Liverpool possessed with a couple of options in that position, Klopp would have preferred him to play in midfield.
The Reds are next in action when they make the dreaded trip to Manchester City on Saturday.
