Tottenham's
Dele Alli has been left out of the England squad, while Chelsea pair Tammy
Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have earned call-ups for the European Qualifiers
against Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Alli has made four appearances for Spurs this season since returning from a
hamstring injury but misses out on Gareth Southgate's latest squad, as do
fellow midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jesse Lingard.
Gareth Southgate has named his 25-man squad for #Euro2020 qualifiers with
Czech Republic and Bulgaria
Despite having earned two senior England caps in friendlies with Germany and
Brazil in November 2017, Abraham is still eligible to play for Nigeria. His
inclusion in the squad appears to pledge his allegiance to England.
The Chelsea striker has seven goals in as many Premier League appearances
this season, just one less than top scorer Sergio Aguero, and scored his
first Champions League goal on his 22nd birthday on Wednesday.
Southgate said: "He is the leading English goalscorer in the league. He is a
player that we put into the squad very young at a time when we wanted to
have a look at some younger players and change the complexion of what we
were doing.
"It was a bit early for him and now it is brilliant the opportunity he has
been given by Frank (Lampard) along with some of the other young English
players at Chelsea. It has been fabulous for them.
"He has really grasped this opportunity. It is thoroughly deserved."
Tomori is enjoying a successful breakthrough season at Chelsea, following a
loan spell at Derby alongside Mason Mount under manager Lampard.
The 21-year-old has made four Premier League and two Champions League starts
for Chelsea, and scored his first goal with a spectacular strike in a 5-2
win at Wolves in September.
The Canadian-born defender has previously featured for his country of birth
at U20 level, but has since gone on to earn 15 caps for England U20s,
winning the World Cup in 2017, and 15 caps for the U21s.
Southgate said: "His profile as a defender fits with the way that
international football is. His athleticism is important. He is capable with
the ball. It's a good opportunity for us to take a closer look at him.
"He is in good form so he'll be feeling confident about himself. He's played
very well for Chelsea against some very good opponents. It's a great
opportunity for him."
Ox, Lingard, Walker omitted
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lingard have both struggled for game-time at
Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, resulting in their removal
from Southgate's youthful squad, but Fabian Delph, 29, has returned after
impressing for Everton since his summer move.
On the omission of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lingard, Southgate said: "It's a
little bit like Dele really, where the season hasn't quite got going for
either of them, but we are expecting them to challenge in the coming months.
"But to put them in means I've got to leave somebody out who is in form and
playing well. I think all of those players would recognise the rationale
behind those decisions."
Kyle Walker remains an absentee as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran
Trippier continue to impress at Liverpool and Atletico Madrid respectively,
with Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka missing out due to illness.
Southgate added: "I said last month that we wanted to look at a couple of
the other full-backs - a different profile. I was really happy with what
Kieran and Trent did in the matches.
"Kyle is a slightly more defensive full-back. He has good qualities with the
ball but the other two boys we felt did well last month and we didn't feel
the decision to change would be the right one.
"We've got really good quality, really good competition for places. There
are some really tight calls and difficult conversations to have with
players."
Mason Mount receives another call-up after earning his first two senior caps
against Bulgaria and Kosovo last time out, as do the uncapped pair of James
Maddison and Tyrone Mings.
England are top of Group A with 12 points from their opening four games,
scoring 19 goals along the way.
Southgate's side will travel to Prague to face Czech Republic on Friday
October 11, before the away fixture with Bulgaria the following Monday.
England reporter's notebook
Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett was inside the Wembley press room to
hear Southgate's squad announcement - here are his thoughts:
"Gareth Southgate's opening statement in this news conference was telling,
and hinted he's had to make decisions that have ruffled some feathers.
"In the first 30 seconds of his presser, Southgate admitted he's had some
very difficult decisions to make.
"Almost as though he knew he would have to deal with some difficult
questions on his decision to drop three senior players who were instrumental
in England's progression to the World Cup semi-final last summer.
"Southgate's a loyal man, fiercely defensive of his players. And he expects
the same in return. So when he's explaining why he's left someone out of the
squad, you can sometimes see the discomfort in his demeanour. Like he's
publicly chastising a member of his family.
"The former England U21s manager likes talking about the young, exciting
players he's selected - he was purring in his appreciation of Tammy Abraham
and Fikayo Tomori. And he was full of praise for Frank Lampard, and Neil
Bath, Chelsea's Head of Youth Development, who got a rare name check, along
with four other members of the club's youth set up. It's great to see young
English players being given a chance, he said.
"But when the subjects of Kyle Walker, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard were
brought up - his face tightened a bit.
"Southgate admitted competition is much tougher now than it was 12-18 months
ago.
"He's very matter of fact in explaining to the media why players haven't
been included. England's manager is always honest and respectful.
"A number of England players have told me he's exactly the same when he
talks to them, especially when he has bad news to deliver."
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Tom Heaton (Aston Villa), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope
(Burnley)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Leicester), Joe
Gomez (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Manchester
United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Fikayo Tomori
(Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Everton), Jordan
Henderson (Liverpool), James Maddison (Leicester), Mason Mount (Chelsea),
Declan Rice (West Ham), Harry Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford
(Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling
(Manchester City), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)
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