Monday 3 October 2016 15:21, UK
Gareth Southgate has named his first England squad - but what do his selections say about his approach to the caretaker role?
The former England U21 boss has been put in charge of the country's final four matches of 2016 - including the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia - following Sam Allardyce's departure from the permanent role.
Here, we take a look at what his 23-man squad tells us…
Rashford returns to the seniors
Gareth Southgate saw first-hand what Marcus Rashford can do when the Manchester United striker scored a hat-trick on his England U21 debut against Norway last month. At the time, Rashford's demotion to the age-group side was explained by his limited chances in the senior squad.
Three goals in five appearances for Manchester United and Harry Kane's absence due to injury seems to have changed that.
So can we expect Rashford to start against Malta or Slovenia? He's now a first-choice pick for Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford and Southgate will surely be tempted to unleash the 18-year-old.
Why not more U21s?
Jesse Lingard is another young gun now among the senior set-up. But why weren't more U21s called up?
Southampton's Nathan Redmond, for instance, has enjoyed an encouraging start to the season. With the U21s only needing a point against Kazakhstan to book a spot at Euro 2017 in Poland, Southgate must have been tempted.
However, former England caretaker boss Peter Taylor explained to Sky Sports that Southgate will know convincing victories in the upcoming qualifiers will boost his chances of taking the job on a permanent basis, so he shouldn't experiment too much.
"Gareth has four matches at least but three of them are qualifying games and I'm sure at the end of that run he'll want to be permanent manager," said Taylor. "It's important he goes and wins those three qualifying matches."
Searching for continuity
Indeed, continuity was a word Southgate used when announcing his squad. "We've tried to keep some continuity from last month because my view would be that there are a lot of things that have been going right," he told TheFA.com
That includes sticking with Wayne Rooney as captain. England's record goalscorer has been dropped to the bench for Manchester United's past three fixtures following a run of poor form. However, he clearly remains an important figure for Southgate.
Indeed, while there have been significant changes off the field, Southgate has avoided making wholesale changes to the squad which won in Slovakia.
Wilshere, Barkley remain on the outside
Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley remain high-profile absentees from the England squad, but in truth neither have made a strong case for a return to the fold.
A glaring miss from six-yards against Watford did little to help Wilshere's cause on Saturday but more importantly the on-loan Arsenal midfielder was once again subbed off, meaning he hasn't completed 90 minutes in over two years.
Barkley, meanwhile, was taken off at half-time at Sunderland in Everton's first game back from the last international break and was replaced again after 77 minutes against Crystal Palace on Friday. The playmaker has a goal and an assist to his name this season, but none since the second week of the campaign.
Johnson's shock return
That's not to say there weren't any surprise call-ups - with Glen Johnson's sudden return to the international arena catching many off guard.
The Stoke City right-back hasn't played for his country since 2014. He's only just returned to the Stoke first team, too, playing in their past four matches - two defeats, two draws, conceding eight. At 32 years old, he seems an unlikely pick for a former U21 manager to go for.
Indeed, according to WhoScored.com's statistics-based player ratings, Swansea's Kyle Naughton, Crystal Palace's Joel Ward, Bournemouth's Adam Smith, West Brom's Craig Dawson and Burnley's Matthew Lowton are all performing better at right-back.
Injuries impact
International managers will rarely be able to select all the players they'd wish to due to injuries, and Southgate's first squad is clearly missing players who will be key to England's World Cup qualifying campaign.
Harry Kane and Luke Shaw are not fit, while Liverpool pair Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne picked up problems at Swansea. Jack Butland and Danny Drinkwater are also out of contention.
