Gareth Southgate announces his first England squad

Posted Monday, October 03, 2016 by givemesport.com

Gareth Southgate has announced his first England squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.

The 46-year-old, who is currently in charge of the Three Lions on an interim basis following the unexpected dismissal of Sam Allardyce last week, hasn't sprung too many big surprises with his first team. (Scroll down this page to see the England squad in full).

Manchester United's Jesse Lingard is handed a call-up, while Marcus Rashford also makes the list after missing out of Allardyce's one and only squad against Slovakia last month.

Southgate selected Lingard for the England Under-21s at the 2015 European Championships and rates the 23-year-old highly.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is called up in place of the injured Liverpool winger Adam Lallana.

SURPRISE CALL-UPS

Oxlade-Chamberlain isn't the only surprise call up.

Stoke City's Glen Johnson, whose last appearance for England was against Uruguay at the 2014 World Cups finals, is included.

Joe Hart also retains his place in the England squad, despite his loan move to Torino from Manchester City.

ENGLAND SQUAD TO FACE MALTA AND SLOVENIA

Interim manager @GarethSouthgate has named a 23-man squad for the #ThreeLions' upcoming @FIFAWorldCup qualifiers: pic.twitter.com/0Tmk87mLAA
— England (@England) October 2, 2016