Dele Alli and Kyle Walker are left fearing for their international futures after being omitted from England boss Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and Kosovo.
Southgate opted instead to include James Maddison despite controversy surrounding his withdrawal from last month’s double-header.
England need just a draw when Montenegro visit Wembley next Thursday to reach next summer’s finals and this month’s matches are the final chance for players to impress before a mid-season international hiatus until March.
That break comes at a bad time for Alli and Walker, who now face a battle to prove they remain part of Southgate’s plans. Tottenham star Alli has not featured for England since June’s Uefa Nations League third-place play-off against Switzerland, partly due to a hamstring injury which curtailed his involvement at the start of the season.
However, the 23-year-old has started Spurs’ last five matches in all competitions - including Wednesday night’s 4-0 Champions League win at Red Star Belgrade - and had hoped to be recalled.
Maddison has instead been given the nod, with Mason Mount also now ahead of Alli in the pecking order.
Southgate planned this morning to include the Chelsea midfielder but only subject to last-minute checks over the severity of an ankle injury sustained in Tuesday’s draw with Ajax.
Walker has been overlooked, with Southgate favouring Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold at full-back. Maddison’s inclusion comes after he was pictured in a Leicester casino on the night England were beaten by the Czech Republic in Prague.
England squad in full
| Goalkeepers |
| Tom Heaton (Aston Villa) |
| Jordan Pickford (Everton) |
| Nick Pope (Burnley) |
| Defenders |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) |
| Ben Chilwell (Leicester) |
| Joe Gomez (Liverpool) |
| John Stones (Man City) |
| Harry Maguire (Man Utd) |
| Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa) |
| Danny Rose (Tottenham) |
| Fikayo Tomori (Chelsea) |
| Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid) |
| Fabian Delph (Everton) |
| Midfielders |
| Ross Barkley (Chelsea) |
| Fabian Delph (Everton) |
| Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) |
| James Madison (Leicester) |
| Mason Mount (Chelsea) |
| Declan Rice (West Ham) |
| Harry Winks (Tottenham) |
| Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) |
| Forwards |
| Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) |
| Harry Kane (Tottenham) |
| Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) |
| Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) |
| Raheem Sterling (Man City) |
| Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) |
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