England call up Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Tammy Abraham celebrates a goal for England U-21s last month

(Image credit: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)

published 2 November 2017

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.

Can the Young Lions inspire a future England World Cup win?

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