The Three Lions are preparing for the 2022 Qatar World cup and have two friendlies lined up against Switzerland on March 26 and Ivory Coast on March 29, both at Wembley Stadium.
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Marc Guehi receives first England call-up while Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho miss out. The Three Lions are preparing for the 2022 Qatar World cup and have two friendlies lined up against Switzerland on March 26 and Ivory Coast on March 29, both at Wembley Stadium. The other notable absentee from the 25-member squad is Manchester city defender Kyle Walker but head coach Gareth Southgate says the 31-year-old will return for the June internationals. Meanwhile Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi received his and midfielder Conor Gallagher and Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe also found their name in the list.
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Here it is… your #ThreeLions squad for March! ?
— England (@England) March 17, 2022
Southgate says the form of others pushed Rashford and Sancho out of his squad. Rashford has started just three of United’s last 12 Premier League games and was a substitute in the team’s 1-0 home loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish were preferred in the attacking wide areas.
Southgate said: “It is a difficult time for [Rashford]. He’s clearly not at his best. There’s plenty of time, we know a lot about Marcus anyway and hopefully he can rediscover some of his form.”
Speaking about Sancho, the English tactician said: “There are other attacking players in our squad who are ahead of him in our opinion. Jadon, in the last few weeks, his performances have improved, but it is an area of the pitch where we have competition for places.
21-year-old Guehi, who joined the Eagles from Chelsea, has impressed under Patrick Vieira on his debut Premier League season.
On the inclusion of Guehi, the England manager said: “With Marc, he’s had a really consistent season. I’ve been very impressed with him on and off the ball. In the biggest games, he’s been very calm.
“We know a lot about him through our development teams as well – he’s a junior World Cup winner – so there are some centre halves who are pushing and we’re very close, but we’ve added Marc and Ben White this time and we think it’s a good opportunity to see two slightly younger players and see how they cope being with us.”
There are six players in the 25-man squad – Nick Pope, Guehi, James Ward-Prowse, Conor Gallagher, Smith Rowe, and Abraham – who were not involved in the Euros.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Nick Pope (Burnley)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Wolves), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Roma), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
