Phil Foden recalled by England but no place for Mason Greenwood

Phil Foden made his England debut against Iceland in September

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has been recalled by England for November's matches against the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.

There is no place for Mason Greenwood, who with Foden was omitted from last month's squad after being sent home from Iceland in September for breaching coronavirus quarantine guidelines.

Forward Danny Ings and midfielder Kalvin Phillips miss out with injuries.

Reece James, who was sent off against Denmark, is included again.

The Chelsea defender will only be available for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday, 12 November before serving a two-game suspension.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire will be unavailable for the Nations League away game against Belgium on 15 November after also being dismissed against the Danes.

Elsewhere, Foden's club-mate Raheem Sterling is also given an expected recall after missing the last set of international fixtures with a minor hamstring injury.

There is also no place in the 29-man squad for Leicester winger Harvey Barnes, who made his Three Lions debut as a 76th-minute substitute in October's 3-0 win over Wales.

England host Iceland in the Nations League on 18 November.

Foden back in the fold

Foden, who made his senior England debut in Iceland, has started the season in fine form for City.

With three goals in 11 appearances across all competitions, he has become increasingly influential for his club.

Referring to both the recall of Foden and Greenwood's omission, England manager Southgate said: "They don't come as a pair, they are individual players with their own strengths and individual talents.

"We are looking at the balance of the squad positionally firstly. Phil has had a lot of football with his club most recently and Mason has had less game time with Manchester United.

"I have had a good chat with (Manchester United manager) Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) about his development and I feel it is better for him to stay at the club at the moment, to develop over the next few months.

"But they are both available, there was no carryover from September, that is done. Both are available for selection and are going to be very good players."

Pickford's place not under threat

Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson is the only uncapped player in Southgate's squad with fellow goalkeeper Jordan Pickford selected after being rested for Everton's Premier League defeat at Newcastle on Sunday.

But while Pickford's club form has come under scrutiny, the 26-year-old has retained Southgate's full confidence.

"When people say I have been loyal to him, he has deserved that," Southgate said.

"His performances have been excellent and that has not been a difficult decision for me.

"We have some competition for places, but I would have to say that there is nobody who I think is challenging at the moment to push him out of that position.

"In terms of how his club are looking after him, he has got a hugely experienced manager there and is in a very good place."

Full England squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Dean Henderson (Manchester United)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Reece James (Chelsea), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Harry Winks (Tottenham)

Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Analysis

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty

Southgate clearly feels Foden is more suited to England's team requirements at present than Greenwood.

Greenwood, 19, has had mixed fortunes recently and even though Ings is missing through injury, Everton's in-form striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin showed his international pedigree in the last break with a goal in the win against Wales. He deserves to retain his place.

Calvert-Lewin's Everton team-mate Pickford has been in the spotlight after the reckless tackle that possibly ended the season for Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in the Merseyside derby and he was left out of the side by Toffees manager Carlo Ancelotti at Newcastle United.

Ancelotti said he will play against Manchester United on Saturday and Southgate could not have given more strident backing by saying no English goalkeeper is currently playing better than Pickford.

Indeed, Southgate's statement supporting Pickford was so emphatic, insisting there are no serious challengers at present, that it is clearly his England place to lose - but his form simply has to improve.

Maguire is also in despite poor form this season, which included a wretched display in the loss to Denmark at Wembley, when he delivered an error-strewn 31 minutes before he was sent off for a second yellow card. He is another who needs to step up his form and quickly.

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