England have announced their squad for the upcoming friendly against Germany and the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania thereafter and the headline news is that Jermain Defoe has played his way back into the fold.
Having scored 14 goals for Sunderland so far this season, 34-year-old Defoe is now in line to win his first international cap since November of 2013.
The 34-year-old will be vying for action alongside Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford in an extremely thin-looking stable of strikers.
Elsewhere, Gareth Southgate has given first senior call-ups to Michail Antonio, Michael Keane, Nathan Redmond and James Ward-Prowse, while Jake Livermore is also recalled having won one cap in 2012.
Here’s what @GarethSouthgate has had to say about #ThreeLions call-ups for @NathanRedmond22 and @Prowsey16: https://t.co/DPCfP5tYqd
— England (@England) March 16, 2017
The England squad in full…
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Tom Heaton
Defenders: Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Michael Keane, Ryan Bertrand, Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne, Kyle Walker
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Adam Lallana, Jake Livermore, Dele Alli, Michail Antonio, Ross Barkley, Jesse Lingard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nathan Redmond, Raheem Sterling, James Ward-Prowse.
Strikers: Jamie Vardy, Jermain Defoe, Marcus Rashford
By heck, Gareth’s given us a lot to contemplate there, though kudos to him for having the gumption to include a wider field of options.
And Defoe’s call-up is long overdue. In fact, England could have probably used his services at both of their last botched tournament outings.
Oh, and no Wayne Rooney or Theo Walcott. That’s nice too.
Any thoughts, Pies fans?
The Three Lions are scheduled to face Germany in a friendly at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park on 22 March before squaring off against Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley on the 26th.