Dele Alli and Danny Ings have been called into the England squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania.
England have qualified for the Finals in France next summer with absolute ease, winning all eight of their matches so far. They will now look to make it a clean sweep this month when they finish their campaign with a home fixture against Estonia, who still have an outside chance of qualification, and then a trip to Lithuania, who stand above only San Marino in Group E.
Hodgson named his squad for the two clashes on Thursday, with the headline news being the inclusion of Alli and Ings. The Tottenham Hotspur youngster, 19, has played in all but one of the Londoners Premier League matches this season having joined from Championship side MK Dons, and scored his first goal in the 1-1 draw against Leicester City back in August.
Ings, meanwhile, joined Liverpool when his Burnley contract expired at the end of last season and has made a promising start to life on Merseyside. The 23-year-old has scored two goals in six appearances for the Reds, who will also be relieved that Hodgson has decided against recalling Daniel Sturridge who has only recently returned to action following an injury layoff.
With Luke Shaw facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury which could keep the Manchester United fullback out of the Finals next year, Hodgson has turned to Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand as a replacement. Jonjo Shelvey, the Swansea City midfielder, keeps his place in the squad, as does Leicester’s in-form striker Jamie Vardy, who has six goals this term.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley).
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton).
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).
Forwards: Danny Ings (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal).
