England have announced their squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro, the list including Declan Rice and Callum Wilson.
West Ham midfielder Rice, who declared himself English despite playing friendly matches for the Republic of Ireland, only got clearance from FIFA last week to be eligible for Southgate’s squad.
However, boss, Gareth Southgate has chosen to call on the Republic of Ireland’s Young Player of the Year due to an injury crisis in the centre of midfield, as both Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Winks and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard are currently sidelined.
Bournemouth striker Wilson has been renamed to the squad after recently making his debut against the USA in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial game. The 27-year-old scored on his debut during that 3-0 win and in doing so became the first Bournemouth player to score for England.
Two names that were left out included Crystal Palace defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Southampton shot-stopper Angus Gunn. England boss Southgate opted to leave them out due to age and both being dual-qualified.
He said:
“I could pick players, give them a cap and stop them playing for someone else but I don’t think that’s right. Angus has got a good challenge to get into our under-21s. There’s some good competition for places.”
Crystal Palace right-back Wan-Bissaka has featured for the Democratic Republic of Congo at under-20 level while Gunn could still choose to play for Scotland.
A new addition to the squad is Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, having not played for the national team since a 3-2 defeat to France in June 2017. He becomes a rival for the number one spot with Everton shot-stopper Jordan Pickford and Stoke City keeper Jack Butland.
Heaton has recovered from a calf strain which kept him out for a large part of the season to regain the Burnley number shirt from former England international Joe Hart. Heaton, who has been capped three times for his country, returned to the Clarets team in December and has been in fine form for Sean Dyche’s side.
Southgate’s usual number one Pickford has been struggling with form recently and has been scrutinised over some of the mistakes he has made leading to goals, despite this it is expected that the 25-year-old will start over Heaton and Butland.
Defenders Danny Rose, James Tarkowski and Harry Maguire have all been welcomed back into the squad after not playing their last match against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League back in November. They won that 2-1 and progressed to the finals this summer in Portugal.
Tarkowski and Maguire replace Brighton’s Lewis Dunk and Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, who has been out with an ankle injury since last December.
Jadon Sancho was also renamed by Southgate as the youngster continues to impress for Dortmund in the Bundesliga, he is the only player to feature from a side outside of English football.
The full list:
Goalkeepers: Tom Heaton, Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Michael Keane, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, James Tarkowski
Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Dele Alli, Fabian Delph, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Declan Rice
Forwards: Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson