Gareth Southgate has today announced his England squad for the upcoming international break, with a few surprise inclusions named by the England boss.

Southgate has named his 27-man squad ahead of the two friendlies against Italy and the Netherlands in the upcoming international break, as England look to build a team ready for the World Cup in Russia.

Southgate had not played it safe

However, Southgate has not played it safe and has gone for a few uncapped faces in his squad, generally picking players on form, rather than the club they play for, something that England fans should be pleased to see.

Burnley duo; goalkeeper Nick Pope and centre-back James Tarkowski have both been included in the squad, as a result of the Clarets fantastic performances in the league this season.

The uncapped Burnley duo are joined by two more new faces for the senior team in the form of Bournemouth's midfielder Lewis Cook and Swansea's centre-back Alfie Mawson, with both having been stand-out performers for their respective struggling sides this season.

England fans will welcome to change to what has been a somewhat stagnant and underperforming side in the last few seasons. However, there will still be some question marks regarding Southgate's decisions this time around.

For starters, West Ham's Joe Hart has been included once again by Southgate, despite his poor performances for England as well as his lack of game time at the Hammers this campaign.

Furthermore, Arenal's Danny Welbeck has been selected to replace the injured Harry Kane, despite falling out of favour for Arsene Wenger's side, where many thought Bournemouth's, Callum Wilson.

Manchester United's Ashley Young is included after some fantastic recent performances, however, fellow seasoned England player and Chelsea captain, Gary Cahill is a shock omission from the squad.

Southgate has also decided to leave out the likes of Fulham wing-back attacker Ryan Sessegnon, Brighton's Lewis Dunk, Newcastle's Jamaal Lascelles and Norwich's Angus Gunn, all of whom were outside bets for a place in the 27.

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Nick Pope

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Kieran Tripper, Ryan Bertrand, Danny Rose, John Stones, James Tarkowski, Alfie Mawson, Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire

Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson, Jake Livermore, Adam Lallana, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Lewis Cook

Forwards: Danny Welbeck, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford
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