Calvert-Lewin gets England call-up, Foden and Greenwood left out

LONDON (Reuters) - In-form Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad while Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood were dropped for disciplinary reasons.

England host a friendly with Wales on Oct. 8 before Nations League matches at home to Belgium and Denmark.

Calvert-Lewin has scored eight goals this season in all competitions, including a hat-trick against West Ham United in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

“A lot of Dominic’s game I’ve liked for a long time, what he’s adding now is the goals that haven’t always been there and in the last 18 months or so he has really improved in that area,” England manager Gareth Southgate said on Thursday.

“He’s been a big part of Everton’s starting the season as well as they have and I’m very pleased to be able to call him up for the first time,” he told a news conference.

There are also first senior call-ups for Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes and Arsenal defender Bukayo Saka.

The decision to leave out Manchester City midfielder Foden and Manchester United forward Greenwood was widely expected after an incident during last month’s international break.

The pair had been called up to the England senior squad for the first time but were sent home after breaching COVID-19 protocols in Iceland by meeting up with two women inside the public areas of the team hotel.

Both players issued apologies in the aftermath of the incident but Southgate had said they would have to regain his trust before they can be considered for selection.

“They are two very talented players but there are two parts. We have to send a message to all players in our teams, at every level, that that sort of thing isn’t how we do things with England but then we also have to rehabilitate these two boys, young people will make mistakes,” he said.

“These lads have suffered now enough, we think they need this period of reflection, but then that gives them the opportunity to get back on their feet with their clubs and enjoy their football,” Southgate said, adding that any future decision on whether to call them up would purely be based on form.

Skipper Maguire returns after he was withdrawn for the Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark following his arrest and trial in Greece during the close season.

A Greek court found Maguire guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult following a brawl on the island of Mykonos.

The 27-year-old was handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days but the United captain has been granted a full retrial after appealing the convictions.

England play Wales on Oct. 8 before two more home games against top-ranked Belgium on Oct. 11 and Denmark on Oct. 14.

Southgate’s side are second in Nations League A Group 2 with four points from two games, two points behind leaders Belgium. Denmark have one point and Iceland have none.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Joe Gomez, Michael Keane, Harry Maguire, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Tyrone Mings, Bukayo Saka, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse, Harry Winks

Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Harvey Barnes, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Ings, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling