England manager Sam Allardyce has named his first squad since taking over from Roy Hodgson in the summer, and it’s already facing some criticism.
A couple of names have been omitted from he squad to face Slovakia in the World Cup qualifier and Allardyce has jumped in to defend his choices.
Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford has not been included in the 23-man squad, and neither has Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, or Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.
Allardyce said, ““It’s the hardest squad I’ve ever picked because it’s England.
“In the past it’s been a case of some of the players joining up who haven’t played that much for their teams. And that’s a bit of a concern,” he argued.
“We’ve looked at all avenues, what sort of pre-season they’ve had, what happened last season, this season, and looked at balance of the squad.”
Allardyce did still throw a spanner in the works however, giving West Ham winger Michail Antonio his first call up to the senior squad.
He is expected to name his England captain by end of play tomorrow. Pundits expect Wayne Rooney to continue in the captaincy role.
See the full squad below:
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley).
Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
Strikers: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).