Gareth Southgate has named Ollie Watkins in his England Squad for the 25 year-old’s first-ever international call-up at any level.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has earned his maiden England call-up after Tammy Abraham was omitted due to an ankle injury, having fended off competition from several in-form forwards like Patrick Bamford and Michail Antonio for this opportunity following Abraham’s injury.
West Bromwich Albion’s goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone has also been called up after Everton’s Jordan Pickford was ruled out with an abdominal muscle injury suffered in a 2-1 defeat against Burnley last weekend.
Luke Shaw and John Stones return in defence as Southgate drops three players – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Michael Keane and Ainsley Maitland-Niles from his defensive selection.
Tottenham’s Harry Winks has been snubbed in midfield as Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips return from injury, whilst West Ham’s Jesse Lingard earns a recall after 18 months out of the squad due to a drop in form as Jordan Henderson drops out with an adductor injury.
Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho misses out with a thigh muscle injury but Jude Bellingham has been called up, despite the club blocking his release as allowed by FIFA due to Coronavirus quarantine issues in Germany.
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish is ruled out with a calf injury whilst Leicester’s midfield duo of Harvey Barnes and James Maddison miss out with knee and hip injuries respectively.
England kick off their bid to qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup with a home clash against San Marino at Wembley Stadium on 25 March, before visiting Albania three days later (28 March) ahead of concluding this month’s qualifiers back at Wembley as they host Poland on 31 March.
Goalkeepers – Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Nick Pope (Burnley), Sam Johnstone (West Brom)
Defence – Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City)
Midfield – Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jesse Lingard (West Ham, loan from Manchester United), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Forward – Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)