England Squad Announcement: Foden and Greenwood in but no Grealish

 

Phil Foden, Mason Greenwood, Dean Henderson and Kalvin Phillips have been handed maiden senior England call ups by Gareth Southgate for next month's UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark, the Football Association has announced.

 

The Three Lions head coach has named his 24-man squad for England's first international matches in almost 12 months, with Manchester United captain Harry Maguire also making the cut despite an altercation with police during a break in Greece.

 

Southgate has rewarded teenage duo Foden and Greenwood with their first ever senior England call-ups following their strong ends to the 2019/20 campaign with Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

 

Foden finished the 2019/20 Premier League season as the highest WhoScored rated Englishmen from starts alone (7.59), with Greenwood coming in second. Moreover, the latter became the first United teenager to score five goals in a single European campaign last term.

 

 

Despite previously suggesting players in the Championship would not be considered for selection, Southgate has also handed Leeds midfielder Phillips a call-up, with Jordan Henderson and James Maddison both missing. Of players to make more than 25 starts in the Championship last season, only one player won possession in the midfield third more frequently than Phillips (every 19.3 minutes).

 

Manchester United shot-stopper Dean Henderson will hope to heap more pressure on Jordan Pickford if given the chance to debut for the Three Lions during the international break following his standout Premier League campaign for Sheffield United in 19/20.

 

Henderson, who is also gunning for the No.1 spot at Old Trafford, finished the Premier League campaign with the best save success rate in the Premier League (75.2%) of goalkeepers with more than 25 appearances under their belt.

 

At the other end of the pitch, Danny Ings is back in the England fold for the first since time he made his Three Lions' debut in December 2015 after finishing the Premier League second (22 goals) behind Jamie Vardy (23) in the Golden Boot race. Excluding penalties, the Southampton striker scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Europe's top five leagues in 19/20.

 

Ings' Southampton team-mate James Ward-Prowse has also been included by Southgate, who is familiar with the 25-year-old from his time as England Under-21 manager. Ward-Prowse played every minute of Southampton's Premier League campaign last term but last turned out for the senior side in March 2019.

 

 

With no recognised left-backs in the squad with both Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell injured, Kyle Walker, who is back in the reckoning after time out, may have to play on the opposite flank against Iceland and Denmark.

 

While Southgate has shown his willingness for change, there is still no space for Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish even with England down on central midfielders. Grealish finished the 2019/20 campaign as the seventh best rated Englishmen in Europe's top five leagues (7.23) but his wait for his first senior England cap goes on.