England team news as Shaun Wane confirms one change for World Cup semi-final against Samoa

Lees was preferred to Thompson for last week's quarter-final win over Papua New Guinea but the St Helens prop has been told he will miss out at the Emirates Stadium.

Thompson, who has not played since a strong showing off the bench against France on October 22, will get his chance to push his case for a place in Wane's team for the final, should England get past Samoa.

When asked how his squad was looking, Wane replied: "Very strong.

"Matty Lees is out of the 19 and Luke Thompson is in. Apart from that, it's exactly the same as last week.

"Matty did some good things. He's a really good player and a really good kid – but I want to have a look at Luke Thompson.

"It's a strong team we've got out."

England made light work of Samoa in the opening game of the tournament on October 15 but Matt Parish's side have responded positively.

After claiming emphatic wins over Greece and France to qualify for the quarter-finals, the Samoans proved too strong for Tonga in Warrington.

Wane is not expecting a repeat of the 60-6 rout at St James' Park, although he has warned the Pacific Islanders that England have also improved since that match.

"We haven't even referenced the first game in Newcastle," he said.

"We know this team we play on Saturday will be a different team. They're talented and have got a lot of really, really good players from the NRL. They're going to challenge us and we're going to be ready.

"I think we're stronger than when we played Samoa. We're doing things better. I'm happy but I'll never be satisfied with how we're playing. There's always ways of improving.

"I still think we can get better on the performance from last week. I know what these players are capable of. We need to improve and I know we will."

Samoa have been handed a major boost in the build-up after seeing captain Junior Paulo's one-match ban overturned.

Wane is unperturbed about coming up against the imposing prop and the best version of Samoa.

"To be honest, I've not given it any thought," said Wane.

"It is what it is. I'm glad he's in the team. He's a good player and will make it a tougher competition on Saturday.

"He's going to challenge us and we're going to challenge him. They're at full strength and we're strong. We're ready."

Wane believes England are primed to take the next step and reach a first World Cup final on home soil since 1995.

"The spirit we have in the camp and how close we are as coaches and players is the tightest I've ever felt in a team – and I had some good teams at Wigan," he added.

"It's a really good spirit and we use every week to make sure it gets better and tighter. Hopefully you'll see the result of that on Saturday."