(WS News) – England winger Jack Grealish was called up by interim manager Lee Carsley on Thursday for their Nations League matches against Greece and Ireland despite missing the last five games for Manchester City with an injury.
England play Greece on Nov. 14 in Athens before they host Ireland three days later at Wembley Stadium.
Grealish’s last game was a 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers last month but the 29-year-old scored against Ireland in the reverse fixture in September and against Finland last month.
He has yet to score for City this season, however, while other players who impressed this campaign — such as Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison — missed out.
“I found a real big challenge of this job is to pick the squad. There are four or five players that can be disappointed they didn’t make this squad because they are having good seasons,” Carsley told reporters.
“We know a lot of the squad are managing injuries. Hopefully, we get a full set and pick the strongest team we can.”
Carsley has also called up two youngsters to the senior squad for the first time — Southampton’s 22-year-old central defender and England Under-21 captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle United left back Lewis Hall (20).
“They are both players who have played a lot of minutes this season,” Carsley said. “They have shown they can consistently play in the Premier League at a high level. They are players I know really well.
“Taylor is a player who really deserves it, he’s a brilliant captain. Lewis has taken his time to settle in but has shown he can be consistent. He’s got a great left foot.”
Uncapped Curtis Jones could also be in line for an England debut after the 23-year-old Liverpool midfielder scored one goal and grabbed four assists in all competitions this season.
He has played 20 times for the Under-21 side, scoring five times and was named in last year’s U-21 Euros team of the tournament after his goal in the final helped England secure the title.
Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope, who was left on the bench in their matches in September and October, has been dropped with Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale earning a call-up.
NO TUCHEL INFLUENCE
This will be Carsley’s last chance to work with the squad before Thomas Tuchel takes charge from Jan. 1 and he said the German manager did not have any influence on squad selection.
“I’ve spoken to him by text but it is literally ‘congratulations’. He’s highly respectful of the job,” he said.
“I think it’s a really good appointment. We talked about getting a coach with a proven track record and Thomas has that.
“I’m looking forward to watching him work and handing over a strong group of players with potential to win a major tournament to him.”
England are second in the group with nine points, behind Greece who have won all four games so far.
Carsley said his aim is to help England gain promotion to League A before he returns to managing the Under-21 side.
“I tried to make it quite clear from the offset I would do the three camps and win promotion in the Nations League. I’ll take that confidence into the future,” he said.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Ezri Konsa, Rico Lewis, Kyle Walker
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher, Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes, Curtis Jones, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice
Forwards: Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Dominic Solanke, Ollie Watkins
