Gareth Southgate has named Adam Lallana, Joe Gomez, James Tarkowski and Luke Shaw in his first England squad since the run to the World Cup semi-finals but there was no place for Ashley Young, or young players such as Phil Foden, Ryan Sessegnon or Jadon Sancho.
The England manager has kept faith with the majority of the squad who performed well in Russia but has recalled Lallana, who has played only three minutes for Liverpool this season, after injury wrecked his chances of going to the World Cup. The forward played an hour of the Champions League final, after replacing Mo Salah, in May and 16 minutes against Brighton earlier that month, but last started for Liverpool in March against Porto.
England open their Nations League campaign against Spain at Wembley on Saturday 8 September, before hosting Switzerland at Leicester three days later for a friendly.
Gomez, who missed the World Cup through injury, has returned after a promising start to the season at Anfield. He will take up the space filled in Russia by the experienced Gary Cahill, who announced this week he wished to take a “step back” from England commitments as he seeks to regain a place in Chelsea’s lineup.
“We’re obviously coming off the back of a successful summer, so I think there’s a good foundation for us to build on,” Southgate said. “With us only being three games into the season, I felt some continuity was important so those who were with us in the summer deserve the right to go again. Others haven’t really had the opportunity to force themselves ahead of those guys.
“From here we have a two-year lead into the European Championship, so I want us to try to capture what we had this summer and why they felt it went well – but, once we’re through this camp, there’s going to be competition from others. People are going to have to play at a good level to retain their places.”
Regarding players such as Manchester City’s Foden, Fulham’s Sessegnon and Sancho of Borussia Dortmund, Southgate said: “We had five changes anyway and we felt that was enough. We also won’t stand still. Luke Shaw is still only 23, Joe Gomez is 21 so we have lowered the age again. We are aware of the excitement around other young players but it might be a bit too early for some.”
The defender Phil Jones has missed out through injury after limping away from Manchester United’s defeat by Spurs. Burnley’s Tarkowski, on standby in the summer, is his replacement.
Quick guide
Full England squad for matches against Spain and Switzerland
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Alex McCarthy (Southampton), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).
The England manager has not used Jamie Vardy’s retirement, as revealed by the Guardian on Tuesday, to name another striker in the squad. Danny Welbeck has kept his place, as has Ruben Loftus-Cheek, despite limited game time for their clubs.
Southampton’s Alex McCarthy has stepped in for Nick Pope, a long-term absentee after dislocating a shoulder in Burnley’s Europa League qualifier at Aberdeen. The manager and his assistant, Steve Holland, watched McCarthy’s games against Everton and Leicester. The goalkeeper, uncapped but called up by Roy Hodgson in 2013 and Sam Allardyce in 2016, has earned a recall ahead of Joe Hart, who is gaining regular playing time after moving to Burnley. Jack Butland has been retained despite playing in the Championship with Stoke.