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Football

25th Aug 2020

Kalvin Phillips and Phil Foden given first England call ups in experimental squad

Gareth Southgate has named his England squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark and there are some fresh faces

Reuben Pinder

There are some fresh faces in the squad

Gareth Southgate has named his England squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark, giving Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips and Manchester City’s Phil Foden their first senior call-ups.

Mason Greenwood and Danny Ings have also been called up to the squad, as has Manchester United captain Harry Maguire despite his ongoing case with the authorities in Greece.

The full squad is as follows.

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Joe Gomez, Tyrone Mings, Michael Keane, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier

Midfielders: James Ward-Prowse, Kalvin Phillips, Harry Winks, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Eric Dier,

Attackers: Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho, Danny Ings, Tammy Abraham.

Phillips joins the senior England squad after helping Leeds gain promotion to the Premier League despite having not yet kicked a ball in the top flight or in any England youth team. Few would argue his call-up is undeserved, though, given the quality he has displayed on and off the ball for Bielsa’s side. It is also thought that he has been selected for these competitive games in order to fend off interest from the Jamaican national team.

Jack Grealish misses out despite an impressive season for Aston Villa, who survived by the smallest of margins in no small part thanks to his performances.

Gareth Southgate confirmed in a press conference that Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ben Chilwell are all injured.

The lack of a natural left-back in this squad could mean Tyrone Mings plays out of position at full-back.

Kieran Trippier returns to the squad having done enough to impress Southgate during his first year at Atletico Madrid.