Gareth Southgate has named his squad for England’s upcoming Nations League matches and there are some surprise selections.
England sit bottom of Group 3 in League A of the Nations League and are yet to win a game in the competition. The Three Lions are set to play Italy and Germany during this round of fixtures and Southgate is likely to use the matches as testers for the upcoming World Cup as this is the last time the group will play a competitive match together before the tournament in Qatar.
The squad has thrown up some surprises with Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho not included. Rashford is said to have a minor injury with other options preferred over Sancho.
Their teammate in Manchester, Harry Maguire, has been included in the squad despite not being a regular starter for United this season. As a result, that has seen players such as Arsenal’s Ben White miss out which seems very unfair considering how well the centre-back has been playing as a right-back this season for the Gunners.
The biggest story, however, is the inclusion of Ivan Toney who gets a call-up for the first time following his impressive recent form with Brentford.
The striker has scored five goals and assisted a further two in six Premier League matches this season and will be looking to impress during this international break in order to be on the plane to Qatar in November.
Gareth Southgate has named a 28-man squad for our #ThreeLions' upcoming games against Italy and Germany:
— England (@England) September 15, 2022