Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins and West Ham United winger Jarrod Bowen have both earned call-ups to Gareth Southgate's England squad for October's fixtures with Australia and Italy.
The Three Lions will welcome Australia to Wembley for a friendly match on October 13, four days before resuming their Euro 2024 qualifying Group C campaign against Italy at the same venue.
Southgate has called up 26 players for the October double-header, including Villa marksman Watkins, who has been rewarded for his scintillating form over the past couple of weeks.
With Southgate in attendance at Villa Park, Watkins scored a hat-tick and provided an assist in a 6-1 thumping of Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as netting three goals in a Europa Conference League qualifying win over Hibernian.
The 27-year-old - who boasts seven caps for the Three Lions - was controversially omitted from September's squad, but he is back in the ranks for the first time since March 2022.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, West Ham attacker Bowen - who has scored five goals in seven Premier League games so far this season - makes the cut for just the second time, having earned his first England call-up for June's Nations League fixtures last year.
The pair form a nine-strong attacking contingent for England, who have also called up Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka, despite the fact that the 22-year-old suffered a hamstring injury against Lens in Tuesday's Champions League clash.
Saka's inclusion has raised hopes that he could be available for Arsenal's Premier League tie with Manchester City on Sunday, but Southgate remained cautious, saying: "He's still being assessed as they've obviously got a big game this weekend and then there's another seven days before we play Australia and 10 days before we play Italy so everybody will monitor everything as we go forward."
Saka, Bowen and Watkins are joined in the offensive ranks by Eddie Nketiah, who is still waiting for his first senior cap after his maiden call-up in September, but Chelsea's Raheem Sterling has been overlooked again.
Manchester City's Jack Grealish returns from injury, but Crystal Palace man Eberechi Eze has not been called up owing to his own hamstring problem, and Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson is absent with a fitness concern too.
© Reuters
In midfield, Southgate has kept faith with Kalvin Phillips despite his continued lack of action at Man City, while Al-Ettifaq's Jordan Henderson also forms part of a recognisable engine room including Trent Alexander-Arnold, who withdrew from September's fixtures due to injury.
Man City defender John Stones earns an expected recall following his recovery from a hip injury, while the ever-present Harry Maguire controversially continues to be picked while he warms the bench for Manchester United.
Once again, there is no place in the team for Arsenal's Ben White, who has been out of the England picture since leaving the 2022 World Cup camp for personal reasons, and Newcastle number one Nick Pope loses out to Palace's Sam Johnstone again.
England sit top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group C with 13 points from a possible 15, despite seeing their 100% record come to an end in a 1-1 draw with Ukraine last month.
ENGLAND SQUAD IN FULL:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo 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), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
