Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell and Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters have been called up to the England senior squad for the first time ahead of friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast; West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins also added to squad
Tuesday 22 March 2022 09:19, UK
Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell and Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters have been called up to the England senior squad for the first time following a number of withdrawals from Gareth Southgate's squad.
Mitchell and Walker-Peters will also be joined in the squad by West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins after the withdrawals of Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Tammy Abraham through injury.
Southgate met with the rest of the England coaching staff on Monday to assess those who might withdraw, and also decide on which players to add to his squad.
He had a major problem in defence, with Luke Shaw the only fit full-back remaining on his list - and he has not played since the end of February, after recovering from injury and a bout of Covid.
Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold is also out for a few weeks with a hamstring strain, and Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has made it clear he wants James to stay with the Blues to recover from injury, rather than join up for two friendly internationals at Wembley.
It means call-ups for Walker-Peters, who is a 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup-winner and has amassed caps from U18 through to U21 level for England, and Mitchell, despite the Palace full-back having never played in any of England's junior teams.
The 22-year-old has played 33 matches for Patrick Vieira's side this season and has caught the eye of the England boss.
"Tyrick, we've been really impressed with, he was very close [to a call-up]," Southgate said last week. "I think he's been very good with his defending, he gets out quickly to people and in the biggest games against top opponents he's coped really well."
England also had problems with their goalkeepers too, with Arsenal goalkeeper Ramsdale ruled out for a few weeks with a muscle strain, and Jordan Pickford still recovering from illness - though he did play in Everton's 4-0 defeat to Palace yesterday.
Johnstone, who has three senior caps to his name, has been called into the squad as back-up for Pickford and Burnley's Nick Pope, while Abraham's withdrawal means another opportunity for Watkins, who scored on his England debut against San Marino in March 2021.
Southgate has given England's players an extra day off, as they head into their first international training camp of 2022, with the squad due to report at St George's Park on Tuesday.
England host Switzerland on Saturday March 26 (kick-off 5.30pm) at Wembley Stadium before facing Ivory Coast on Tuesday March 29 (kick-off 7.45pm), also at Wembley. Both games are live on Sky Sports.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Sam Johnstone (West Brom)
Defenders: Conor Coady (Wolves), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal), Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace), Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Forwards: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Emile Smith Rowe (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
England's March internationals will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Tune in to England vs Switzerland from 4.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. You can then watch England vs Ivory Coast live on Sky on Tuesday March 29 at 7.45pm.
"The other attacking players in the squad are slightly ahead of him at the moment," Southgate said on why there is no Jadon Sancho in his latest England squad.
But the Manchester United winger's omission will come as a surprise to many.
Having been left out of the previous camp in November after starting just four Premier League matches before the sacking of former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the 21-year-old has enjoyed a noticeable return to form under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
After missing the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino last year, ex-Germany international Lothar Matthaus told Sky Sports News' Sancho made a mistake when he left Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
Friendlies
Saturday, March 26: Switzerland (h)
Tuesday, March 29: Ivory Coast (h)
Nations League
June 4: Hungary (a)
June 8: Germany (a)
June 11: Italy (h)
June 14: Hungary (h)
September 23: Italy (a)
September 26: Germany (h)
World Cup 2022 starts in November: Dates, draw, schedule, kick-off times
