England: Fikayo Tomori, Ollie Watkins and Aaron Ramsdale named in Gareth Southgate's squad for World Cup qualifiers

 

England boss Gareth Southgate has recalled defender Fikayo Tomori, striker Ollie Watkins and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden also returns after a foot injury.

Defender Harry Maguire and right-back Trent-Alexander Arnold are out injured.

England travel to Andorra on Saturday, 9 October and host Hungary on Tuesday, 12 October.

The Three Lions are top of Group I heading into the penultimate international camp of the year with 16 points from six games.

Centre-back Tomori, who moved from Chelsea to AC Milan in the summer, last played for England in November 2019 when he earned his only international cap.

The 23-year-old had a successful spell on loan at the Italian side towards the end of last season before making the move permanent and has been a key player for the club.

"He's playing at a club where there's an expectation to win every week, so he's performing under pressure," said Southgate.

"I like Fikayo in terms of his aggressiveness as a defender. Because he's got speed he's confident enough to defend on the front foot and his use of the ball is improving all the time."

Manchester United's Maguire has a calf injury and Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold has a groin issue.

Aston Villa striker Watkins makes his return for the first time since being cut from Southgate's provisional Euro 2020 squad in the summer, but Leeds striker Patrick Bamford misses out after being called up for the last round of international fixtures.

First cap in Ramsdale's sights

Arsenal goalkeeper Ramsdale was part of the side which reached the final of that tournament after being drafted in following an injury to Dean Henderson but is still waiting to earn his first England cap. He returns in place of Burnley's Nick Pope.

"Aaron was with us all summer and we had the opportunity to work with him for a long time and get to understand his strengths," Southgate added

"Nick [Pope] is still I think coming back from injury a little bit, but I think Aaron is just in a better vein of form at the moment.

"From Aaron's perspective, the move to a bigger club with higher expectations and a style of play where he is asked to build with his feet from the back, he's coping really well."

Bellingham and Greenwood miss out

Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and Manchester United's Mason Greenwood have not been included, despite being in good form at club level.

"I've spoken to both of them," said Southgate.

"Jude at the moment is playing a high level of matches with Champions League games, league games.

"As an 18-year-old he had a full season last season and then into the Euros with no break. We have to remember these lads are still physically growing, so when we talk about young player development we have to be really careful in how we handle them.

"These are two players we think can be really exciting for England's future. We don't want to overload them, we want to make sure we are making the right decisions with them."