England include Wilshere in squad for March friendlies

The Arsenal midfielder has been included in The Three Lions setup after almost two years as a reward for his impressive displays with the Gunners this season.

Elsewhere, Gareth southgate handed debut callups to three players in an experimental squad for games against The Netherlands and Italy which will serve as an opportunity for fringe players to showcase their abilities in an attempt to earn a ticket on the plane to Russia

Nick Pope’s outstanding displays in goal have seen him earn a call up and he expected to battle Joe Hart for the Number 1 jersey after Southgate revealed earlier that he undecided on who will start between the sticks at the World Cup.

James Tarkowski and Alfie mawson have also been included in the squad after solid performances for Burnley and swansea respectively while Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook has another chance to receive his first cap after failing to feature in his maiden call up last November.

As expected, Harry will sit this one out with an ankle injury. The Tottenham man is predicted to recover within a month, thereby allaying fears that he may be unfit for the World cup. In his stead, Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy will all compete to lead the line in the upcoming friendlies

England squad in full
GOALKEEPERS
Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (West Ham), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley)

DEFENDERS
Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Alfie Mawson (Swansea), Danny Rose (Tottenham), John Stones(Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Manchester United)

MIDFIELDERS
Dele Alli (Tottenham), Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Jake Livermore (West Brom), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

FORWARDS
Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)