Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw has been recalled to the England squad for the September matches against Spain and Switzerland.
Shaw, 23, has not played for England since March 2017 but he is included on Gareth Southgate’s 23-man list while United teammate Ashley Young is left out.
Three Lions boss Southgate has made five changes from his World Cup squad, Sky Sports reports. Young, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill, Jamie Vardy and Nick Pope are all absent with defenders Shaw, James Tarkowski and Joe Gomez called up alongside midfielder Adam Lallana and uncapped goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
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England play Spain in the Uefa Nations League on 8 September at Wembley and then take on Switzerland in a friendly at Leicester City on 11 September.
Southgate has named 18 players from the squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals and he believes it’s important to build on that success. He told thefa.com: “We’re obviously coming off the back of a successful summer, so I think there’s a good foundation for us to build on.
“With us only being three games into the season, I felt some continuity was important so those who were with us in the summer deserve the right to go again. Others haven’t really had the opportunity to force themselves ahead of those guys.
“From here we have a two-year lead into the European Championships, so I want us to try and capture what we had this summer and why they felt it went well - but, once we’re through this camp, there’s going to be competition from others. People are going to have to play at a good level to retain their places.”
Leicester striker Vardy and Chelsea defender Cahill said this week they were stepping aside from international duty while Manchester United utility player Young was not picked.
However, Southgate says the door is not closed for the experienced trio. “I’ve had discussions with them around their involvement and what we’d be looking to do in the next few months in particular,” he said.
“Those guys are older and - in a couple of their cases - aren’t playing much with us. I recognise that, when you’re travelling with England and not playing for a fair bit of time, that’s a different sort of role. I did that myself for a few years.
“There’s a point where I don’t need to know what those guys can do as we’re looking to bring younger players through. It was great that we were able to have mature conversations about that. They all want to stay available and have all done a fantastic job with us. The door’s certainly not closed.”
England 23-man squad
- Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Alex McCarthy, Jordan Pickford
- Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Luke Shaw, John Stones, James Tarkowski, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker
- Midfielders: Fabian Delph, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Jesse Lingard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Raheem Sterling
- Forwards: Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
England’s 2018 fixtures
- 8 September: Uefa Nations League vs. Spain (Wembley, London; 7.45pm)
- 11 September: friendly vs. Switzerland (King Power Stadium, Leicester; 8pm)
- 12 October: Uefa Nations League vs. Croatia (Stadion HNK Rijeka, Rijeka; 7.45pm)
- 15 October: Uefa Nations League vs. Spain (Estadio Benito de Villamarin, Sevilla; 7.45pm)
- 15 November: friendly vs. United States (Wembley, London; 8pm)
- 18 November: Uefa Nations League vs. Croatia (Wembley, London; 2pm)
