James Milner has been named in Stuart Pearce's England Under-21 squad for the friendly against Ecuador.
Villa winger named in Under 21 squad for Ecuador friendly
Aston Villa winger James Milner has been named in Stuart Pearce's England Under 21 squad for Tuesday's friendly against Ecuador in Malaga.
The 23-year-old, who holds the record for the most U21 caps, was tipped to be named in Fabio Capello's full squad for the upcoming friendly against Spain.
But despite being in impressive form over recent weeks, helping Villa to fourth in the league, it appears the former Newcastle man has been overlooked by Capello.
Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne is back with Pearce's squad after a shock call-up to the seniors last time out for the friendly win over Germany.
Other players who may feel slightly disappointed not to be with the senior squad will be Micah Richards and Aaron Lennon after both were called-up by Pearce.
Opportunity
Pearce has also named two uncapped players in his squad in Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck and Bolton new boy Mark Davies.
Experienced U21 players such as David Wheater, Joe Hart, Andrew Taylor and Mark Noble were all left out of the squad.
"We are focused solely on building up to the championship in the summer," Pearce said.
"There are 30-odd players who have got every opportunity of being in the final 23 and a lot of the players need game time to prove to me that they deserve to be there.
"In this squad we are having a look at Danny Welbeck, who has done well in the U19s and broken into the team at Old Trafford which is no mean feat.
"We've also brought in Mark Davies from Bolton. Franco Baldini (Capello's number two) saw him at the weekend and thought he was outstanding and he has played very well on loan at Leicester earlier in the season.
"Ecuador are going to bring a strong squad with a lot of senior experience. It will be a good learning curve for our players to face opposition from outside Europe."
Squad: Squad: Tom Heaton (Cardiff), Scott Loach (Watford); Ryan Bertrand (Norwich), Danny Fox (Coventry), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Kyle Naughton (Sheffield United), Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Richard Stearman (Wolves), Steven Taylor (Newcastle); Lee Cattermole (Wigan), Jack Cork (Watford), Mark Davies (Bolton), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough), Michael Kightly (Wolves), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham); Fraizer Campbell (Tottenham), Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (Wolves), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).
