Maguire and Chalobah called up for England duty

24 August 2017 14:39

Uncapped duo Harry Maguire and Nathaniel Chalobah have been handed their first call-ups in the first England squad since Wayne Rooney's international retirement.

Manager Gareth Southgate has named the Leicester defender and the Watford midfielder in a 28-man squad to face Malta and Slovakia in World Cup qualifiers on September 1 and 4.

Rooney had been asked to join up with the squad but instead decided to call time on his Three Lions career at the age of 31.

Southgate has also named four goalkeepers in his panel, with Everton's Jordan Pickford joining Joe Hart, Jack Butland and Tom Heaton.

Southgate is relishing the chance to see some more of Foxes defender Maguire as injury prevented him being called up for the summer internationals - the World Cup qualifying draw against Scotland and the 3-2 friendly defeat by France.

The England boss said: "I thought his performances for Hull were very good. He's a defender that's very comfortable with the ball and that's the profile of international football.

"I think he's already adjusted really well at Leicester to a new club. He plays with great composure (and) can defend the ball in the box.

"So I think it's a really good opportunity for us to have a look at him...for him to get a feel of being around the senior squad and we can assess how he goes in training and that sort of thing.

"As you say, we were looking at him towards the end of last season but he wasn't really fully fit towards the end of the year."

Source: PA