The England squad for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy and friendly match against Australia in October has been announced, with Gareth Southgate including some unexpected players in his 26-man team.
Despite previously stating that players such as Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips would need to get more frequent minutes for their respective club sides, Manchester United and Manchester City, Southgate has once again included the pair in his England squad.
Elsewhere, John Stones returns to the England squad despite having not made a single appearance in any competition for Manchester City since their Community Shield loss to Arsenal in early August. Lewis Dunk, Levi Colwill and Marc Guehi have also retained their spots among England's elite.
In the attacking positions, Southgate has opted for the in-form duo of Jarrod Bowen and Ollie Watkins. The latter has been in a rich vein of goalscoring form for Aston Villa, and pips Callum Wilson into the final 26. Eberechi Eze's latest injury setback opens the door for Bowen.
Meanwhile, Southgate has taken the decision to leave out one-time favourite Raheem Sterling again. James Ward-Prowse will also feel aggrieved to miss out.
England take on Australia in a friendly match on Friday 13 October at Wembley Stadium, before hosting Italy on Tuesday 17 October at the same ground in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
Should the Three Lions win that game, they will have all but secured their spot in the European Champions in Germany next summer. Italy are currently six points behind England in Group C, though they still have a game in hand on their rivals.
England squad for October games in full
- GK: Jordan Pickford (Everton)
- GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- GK: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace)
- DF: John Stones (Manchester City)
- DF: Levi Colwill (Chelsea)
- DF: Lewis Dunk (Brighton)
- DF: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
- DF: Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
- DF: Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)
- DF: Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
- DF: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)
- DF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
- MF: Conor Gallagher (Chelsea)
- MF: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
- MF: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
- MF: Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq)
- MF: Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City)
- MF: James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur)
- FW: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
- FW: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
- FW: Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
- FW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- FW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
- FW: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
- FW: Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal)
- FW: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
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