Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire and Eddie Nketiah have been included in the England squad for September’s fixtures against Ukraine and Scotland.
Henderson left Liverpool for Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq in July, but the 33-year-old had been told by manager Gareth Southgate that the move would not impact his England prospects.
Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips are included, despite not playing a minute of club football so far this term.
Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah is also included, while Chelsea defender Levi Colwill makes the senior squad for the first time, but there is no place for Colwill’s team-mate Raheem Sterling.
Sterling was left out of Southgate’s last selection in May after a mutual decision based on his “physical condition” but had made a strong start to the new Premier League season.
Southgate admitted Sterling was “not happy” about his latest call.
“To bring Raheem back in we would have to leave someone out and I didn’t think any of the attacking players warranted being left out. He is an important player for us but there are a lot of options behind the No 9.”
Southgate said it was “not ideal” that Maguire and Phillips had not featured so far this term, but insisted he had kept a close key on Henderson’s performances for Steven Gerrard’s side.
“We have watched every game,” Southgate said. “Key moving forward will be the physical intensity of the league with the heat; whether that allows him to perform at the level we need. We have to assess where he sits in our squad.”
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has been listed among the midfielders.
England take on Ukraine in a Euro 2024 qualifier at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland — due to ongoing conflict in Ukraine — on Saturday, September 9, before travelling to Glasgow to face Scotland in a friendly at Hampden Park on Tuesday, September 12.
Southgate’s side are looking to extend their perfect start to the qualification campaign.
After wins against Italy and Ukraine in March, they scored 11 unanswered goals in June’s fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia.
England squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers vs Ukraine and Scotland
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)
How does Euro 2024 qualification work?
Hosts Germany will be joined by 23 teams at next year’s finals.
The qualifying campaign runs from March to November 2023 and splits 53 teams into 10 groups.
Ten group winners and 10 runners-up will progress to the final tournament, with the remaining three spots decided via the 2022-23 Nations League play-offs in March 2024.
See the full Euro 2024 qualifying schedule, fixtures and kick-off times here.
When is Euro 2024?
The month-long Euro 2024 finals will start on Friday, June 14, with the final scheduled to take place at Berlin’s 70,000-capacity Olympiastadion on Sunday July 14.
The tournament will take place across 10 host cities: Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.
(Photo: Getty Images)
