England boss Gareth Southgate says Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have a “great opportunity” to stake their World Cup claims after being named in his latest squad.
The uncapped trio are included for the Wembley friendly matches against Germany on 10 November and four days later against Brazil. Also included are Manchester United’s Ashley Young, who has not played for England since 2013, and Tottenham defender Danny Rose, who returns from injury.
But Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere and Liverpool winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did not get the call from the England coach.
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With World Cup qualification now secured, the friendlies give new players the chance to shine and for the squad to “evolve” says Southgate.
“We’re in a position now where we’ve qualified for the World Cup and we always wanted to look at the team and how we want it to evolve,” Southgate told thefa.com.
“This is an opportunity to look at new players and a different way of playing and I think the beauty of my position is that I know the young players in the system.
“These lads are players who, right through the age groups, have been recognised as being our best players and they’re all playing well with their clubs and having a good impact.
“This is a great opportunity to see if they can fit into the senior team and they’ve got the chance to stay there if they do well.”
Striker Abraham has impressed this season since joining Swansea City on loan from Chelsea and his first senior call-up is “on merit” says Swans manager Paul Clement.
“It’s very pleasing news to see someone we’ve brought to the club on loan rewarded with his first call-up,” Clement told the BBC.
“His all-round game is developing, including back-to-goal and defensive positioning. Every level he’s played at, he’s contributed. Now he’s got the next test.”
Wilshere’s omission may come as a surprise, but Southgate says the midfielder needs more game time at Arsenal after a series of injuries.
“I don’t know how you get in an England squad without getting in the Arsenal team,” Southgate told the BBC.
“There is no question about his ability, his football brain or personality, we just need to see him playing before he comes back in because unfortunately there has been a history of injuries.
“I’ll be having discussions with Arsene about him, we think he is a top player so for him it’s about game time.”
England squad for the matches against Germany and Brazil
- Tammy Abraham, Swansea City (loan from Chelsea)
- Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur
- Ryan Bertrand, Southampton
- Jack Butland, Stoke City
- Gary Cahill, Chelsea
- Fabian Delph, Manchester City
- Eric Dier, Tottenham Hotspur
- Joe Gomez, Liverpool
- Joe Hart, West Ham United (loan from Manchester City)
- Jordan Henderson, Liverpool
- Phil Jones, Manchester United
- Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
- Jesse Lingard, Manchester United
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Crystal Palace (loan from Chelsea)
- Harry Maguire, Leicester City
- Jordan Pickford, Everton
- Marcus Rashford, Manchester United
- Danny Rose, Tottenham Hotspur
- Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
- John Stones, Manchester City
- Kieran Trippier, Tottenham Hotspur
- Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
- Kyle Walker, Manchester City
- Harry Winks, Tottenham Hotspur
- Ashley Young, Manchester United
