GARETH SOUTHGATE has named his England squad for the upcoming international fixtures.
The Three Lions face Malta before a trip to North Macedonia this month in their final two Euro 2024 qualifying matches.
One shock inclusion is Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips.
The midfielder has barely played this season and has now earned more call-ups (2) than starts (1) for his club.
European-based stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have obviously received calls after their impressive form for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively.
Kane has netted an incredible 19 goals and seven assists in 14 Bundesliga and Champions League appearances.
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While Bellingham has continued to prove that he is one of the world’s best midfielders.
He has also been in supreme goalscoring form having bagged 13 goals in 14 matches in all competitions for the LaLiga giants.
However, there is no space for Arsenal star Eddie Nketiah.
The striker has been left out of the team despite netting a hat-trick in October against Sheffield United.
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The defence sees Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill, and Kieran Tripper receive recalls.
While Lewis Dunk and Fikayo Tomori have also kept hold of their places.
John Stones however will miss out on the two matches due to an injury he picked up in the Champions League win over Young Boys.
Man City manager Pep Guardiola admitted that Stones could be out for a “while”.,
Moving forward, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eberechi Eze, Conor Gallagher, Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson join Bellingham and Phillips as Southgate’s midfield options.
Sam Johnstone has kept his spot in the team despite Nick Pope’s form at Newcastle.
Meanwhile, other goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Jordan Pickford have kept hold of their spots.
In terms of forward options, Southgate will have Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford have been called up.
James Maddison has been given a spot in the squad despite his injury fears.
Callum Wilson and Ollie Watkins have also been recalled and will compete with Kane for a starting spot.
West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has also earned a recall to the national team after his form.
The forward broke the Premier League record for scoring in his first six away games this season.
Chelsea star Raheem Sterling also missed out on the squad again.
He was not included in the squad last time as he wanted to get back to his best.
On Sterling’s continued omission, Southgate said: “The door is 100 per cent open, not only for Raheem but others in this squad.
“We don’t need to know about his qualities and personality. He is a crucial part of the journey we’ve had in the last few years.
“We had an exceptional win over Italy. Who do we leave out to put him in? It’s as simple as that.”
Southgate also explained why Arsenal’s Ben White was excluded from the team.
He added: “Ben has been very solid for Arsenal. He’s a different profile of full-back. He’s a centre-back playing at full-back, really.
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“He’s behind a couple of others.
“We’ve got Kyle, we’ve got Kieran, Reece James, it’s a position we’ve got strength. There’s a couple of good young ones coming through.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
