Kyle Walker, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were conspicuous by their absence from the latest England squad as Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi received a first call-up.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate named a 25-man squad for the forthcoming Wembley friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
Manchester City full-back Walker missed out, as did Manchester United pair Rashford and Sancho, while Ben White was back in the squad following a fine run of form at Arsenal.
Former Chelsea youngster Guehi captained Lee Carsley’s Under-21 side during the last international break but has been rewarded for his fine form with a maiden senior call-up.
Here it is… your #ThreeLions squad for March! 🦁— England (@England) March 17, 2022
Southgate said: “With Marc he has had a really consistent season, I have been really impressed on and off the ball.
“In the biggest games he has been really calm, we know a lot about him from the junior teams. There are some centre-halves who are pushing and very close but we have chosen Marc and Ben White.”
Nick Pope returned in place of Sam Johnstone as one of three goalkeepers while Declan Rice and James Ward-Prowse also earned recalls.
Injuries ruled out Ben Chilwell and Kalvin Phillips, with Luke Shaw the only recognised left-back included.
With preparations now under way for the World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off in November, Walker, Sancho and Rashford will be concerned at missing out.
While Rashford has struggled for form, Sancho has just started reaching the sort of levels which prompted United to spend £73million on the forward last summer.
The pair both missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy but had been backed by Southgate until now.
Southgate added: “There are other attacking players in our squad who are ahead of him in our opinion.
“Jadon in the last few weeks his performances have improved but it is an area of the pitch where we have competition for places.
“With Marcus, he is in the same position as everyone else, whether they are in the squad or not they all have to play well in the next period, it is a difficult time for him, he is clearly not at his best.
“There is plenty of time, we know about Marcus, we know what he can bring to us.”
Walker is another surprise omission, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James the two right-backs included this time around.
Emile Smith Rowe and Conor Gallagher retained their places having been called up due to injuries in the November international break.
