England squad announcement LIVE: Gareth Southgate reveals Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka decisions

Gareth Southgate has brought in Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and the fit-again Bukayo Saka to his squad for England’s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers, but Raheem Sterling has again been omitted.

John Stones, who picked up an injury this week playing for Manchester City, and Saka’s Arsenal teammate Eddie Nketiah are the two players to drop out from October’s wins over Australia and Italy.

England play Malta on Friday 17 November before travelling to North Macedonia for their final game of the qualification stage four days later.

Sterling’s chances of making the cut for the tournament in Germany next summer are now hanging by a thread. The 28-year-old has not been part of an England squad since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with his last appearance coming as a substitute in the quarter-final defeat by France.

Breaking report by Lawrence Ostlere at Wembley:

Gareth Southgate explains Raheem Sterling decision:

“The door is 100 per cent open not only for Raheem but also other players who aren’t in this squad. We don’t need to know about his quality, his personality. He is a crucial part of the journey we’ve been on.

“The squad is playing really well and we had an exceptional win against Italy last time out. Who do we leave out? No [the relationship hasn’t broken down]. He wasn’t available in March or June. We started on a good run and the performance in June were excellent so we’ve stuck with that group. We’ve deliberately not made many changes.

“Raheem looks invigorated but really pleased with the team.

“It’s an area of the pitch where we have as much competition as anywhere. Bowen has started the season well. Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer are doing well. It’s a changing landscape there. We used to not have wingers, that’s why we used wing-backs in Russia. We have a lot of depth in those areas now, that’s what people need to understand.”

Bukayo Saka and Callum Wilson are in, the injured John Stones and Eddie Nketiah are out.

There is no place for Raheem Sterling.

England squad:

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).

Defenders: Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayi Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal).

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Callum Wilson (Newcastle United).

When are England’s matches?

Friday 17 November 2023, 7.45pm GMT, Wembley Stadium, London

England vs Malta (Euro 2024 qualifier)

Monday 20 November 2023, 7.45pm GMT, Tose Proeski Arena, Skopje

North Macedonia vs England (Euro 2024 qualifier)

How can I watch them?

Both matches will be shown live in the United Kingdom on Channel 4, and will be available to stream via the Channel 4 website.

DELETEEDIT

England players have only four more international games in which to impress Gareth Southgate before the manager names his squad for Euro 2024.

Southgate’s team qualified for the tournament, which will be hosted by Germany next summer, with a stylish 3-1 win over reigning champions Italy at Wembley Stadium, the venue for that agonising shootout defeat by the Azzurri in 2021.

Now England can look ahead to the Euros, with two final qualifiers against Group C minnows Malta and North Macedonia to come in November, before two friendlies at Wembley in the spring.

Competition for places is fierce, made even more so by Uefa’s announcement that squads will return to containing 23 players, after 26 had been allowed for the Covid-affected Euro 2020 and at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Lawrence Ostlere takes a closer look at who is heading to Germany and who might miss out.

That’s all from Southgate!

Gareth Southgate explains Kalvin Phillips selection:

“For any player that’s not playing football, it’s about their career. England is a consequence of club but you also want fulfilment. If you’re training every day, you want to play.

“He’s playing with world-class players at his club so I completely understand why he’s not getting the games.

“Between him, Pep [Guardiola] and Txiki [Begiristain] I’m sure they’ll discuss the best route forward.

“We know the quality of his play and he was our player of the year a couple of years ago. We’d like him to be in a better rhythm of playing but there aren’t many players who can play in his position at the level.”

Gareth Southgate on striker options after naming both Callum Wilson and Ollie Watkins alongside captain Harry Kane, with Eddie Nketiah dropping out:

“There’s also Ivan Toney and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who’s starting to get games again. There is competition.

“I said to Eddie [Nketiah] that, at the moment, we see Callum [Wilson] and Ollie [Watkins] slightly ahead of him, but he’s progressing really well.

“I don’t think his injury is a big problem.

“He’s left a positive impression with us. He’s not in at the moment but maybe that could change over the weekend.”

Gareth Southgate is asked if Ben White is still available for selection. The Arsenal right back has not been selected since he left the World Cup camp prematurely last November.

“I assume so,” he replies. “Ben has been very solid for Arsenal. He’s a different profile of full-back, he’s a centre-back playing at full-back really. He’s behind a couple of options in there, we’ve got Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander Arnold, Reece James, and there a couple of other younger players coming through. We’re happy with that area of the team.”

Southgate on Harry Maguire’s form:

“We want our players to be involved and enjoying their football with the club. He’s battling for the team. I’m pleased for him.”