Newcastle's Lewis Hall and Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis both called up for first time; England face Greece in Athens on November 14 and host Republic of Ireland at Wembley on November 17 as Lee Carsley takes charge of the senior squad for the final time
Thursday 7 November 2024 15:03, UK
Defensive duo Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Lewis Hall have received their first England call-ups, while Aaron Ramsdale and Curtis Jones have also returned to Lee Carsley's squad.
Hall has featured in all 10 of Newcastle's Premier League fixtures this season and will now look to resolve England's issues at left-back, after the likes of Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rico Lewis were all trialled in the role.
Harwood-Bellis was given his England U21 debut by Carsley and will now hope to make his senior bow in the Nations League fixtures in Greece on November 14 and at home to Republic of Ireland three days later.
Speaking after his final squad was confirmed, Carsley - who will be replaced by new permanent manager Thomas Tuchel in January - commented on the inclusions of Hall and Harwood-Bellis.
"They are both players who have played a lot of minutes this season," he said. "They have shown they can consistently play in the Premier League at a high level. They are players I know really well."
On Hall specifically, Carsley added: "Lewis is a player that has taken his time to settle in. He's high quality, left-footed and a player that has shown he deserves to be in.
"He's really consistent and I'm looking forward to working with him. There's such competition at right-back in terms of the right-backs that we've got. We haven't got the same problems or challenges at left-back.
"So it's a good challenge for Lewis to see if he can maintain that spot."
Harwood-Bellis' Southampton team-mate Ramsdale returns to the squad for the first time since Euro 2024, replacing Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope. Meanwhile, injured Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo makes way for Liverpool's Curtis Jones.
Manchester City duo Kyle Walker and Jack Grealish are surprise inclusions given the latter has missed the last five games through injury and Walker has only just returned from being sidelined for nearly two weeks in October.
Dominic Solanke retains his spot in the squad following his recent double against Aston Villa but Jarrod Bowen has not done enough to earn a recall after being dropped in October.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Rico Lewis (Man City), Kyle Walker (Man City), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton).
Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Phil Foden (Man City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid).
Forwards: Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Jack Grealish (Man City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).
Carsley is looking to finish his time as interim England boss on a high as he takes charge of his final international camp before Tuchel starts in the new year.
The 50-year-old went on to confirm that, despite the imminent arrival of Tuchel working as Gareth Southgate's successor, the German had no influence on his squad selection.
He said: "Thomas Tuchel has not had any influence on the squad selection. I've spoken to him by text but it is literally congratulations.
"He is highly respectful of the job, not only me but what the staff are doing, so I've been left to it like we always have."
Carsley has won three of his four games in charge of the national team but got a taste of how tough the challenge is after witnessing his side lose 2-1 to Greece during the last break.
"I've enjoyed it but it has been challenging, it really has," he added. "It's a massive honour to have the trust I've got from my bosses at the FA.
"We've shown we are capable of doing it and it will be a great achievement if we can get two positive results now to finish on a high."
When asked about his next move in football after his temporary role with the senior side comes to an end, Carsley confirmed he would be returning to the England U21s to take charge of the Young Lions once again.
"My role will be back with the U21s - a role I'm privileged to do. With that, however, there's total support for the senior team," he added.
"The job and the role is quite clear in terms of helping, producing and developing players to play in the senior team. I'm in a better position to do that now because I've seen the level that the seniors are operating at."
Sky Sports' Nick Wright:
Lewis Hall's England prospects seemed remote during his first year at Newcastle. He made only eight Premier League starts in total, with Eddie Howe preferring an out-of-position Dan Burn at left-back. He was still turning out for his country's U21s as recently as last month.
How quickly things have changed. The Chelsea academy graduate, whose move to St James' Park was made permanent for £28m in the summer, is up to seven Premier League starts already this season and his impressive recent showings have not gone unnoticed.
The 20-year-old earned praise for the way he handled Bukayo Saka in Newcastle's 1-0 win over Arsenal. He has helped the side keep five clean sheets in his last five appearances and shown his attacking threat too, notching an assist and creating a string of chances.
Of course, his attributes are well-known to Carsley, who has worked with him at youth level, and the same is true of Harwood-Bellis. The context of challenging circumstances at Southampton has not put off Carsley, as he feels he has handled the step up well.
With more experienced members of England's defence absent due to injury, including Harry Maguire, John Stones and Luke Shaw, Hall and Harwood-Bellis will be eager impress incoming England boss Thomas Tuchel, as they already have Carsley.
England will travel to Athens to face Greece on November 14 at 7.45pm. The Three Lions will then host Republic of Ireland at Wembley on November 17 at 5pm.
