Roy Hodgson announced his latest England squad yesterday for the forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania.
The squad does include some mainstays such as Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart, and defenders Phil Jones, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill.
But two inclusions who may have caught people unawares are the inclusion of Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli, and Liverpool striker Danny Ings. But there was no place for Ings’ Liverpool teammate Daniel Sturridge.
Alli has been an ever present for Spurs this season, with only missing one game for the North London side in all competitions this season. The young England midfielder has made an impressive start to his career after signing from MK Dons last season, having scored in his Premier League debut against Leicester City back in August.
Ings is another player who has been handed his first England call up, having played in 6 games and scoring twice for the Merseyside club, after making the move from relegated side Burnley in the summer.
There were also call ups for Southampton Left-Back Ryan Bertrand, who will be asked to fill the void left by the injury to Luke Shaw. There was also a call up for in-form Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who scored both goals for his team in the 5-2 loss to Arsenal at the weekend.
With England already guaranteeing their place in France next summer, these next two games will give Hodgeson the chance to shuffle the pack, to give him a chance to look at who could be in the squad for Euro 2016.
The England Squad for the games against Estonia and Lithuania:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton)
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Strikers: Danny Ings (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
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