England confirm new call-ups as Gareth Southgate hit by injury withdrawals

Defenders Tyrick Mitchell and Kyle Walker-Peters are in line for their first senior England appearances, with manager Gareth Southgate calling the pair up to his squad for the upcoming friendlies.

Crystal Palace left-back Mitchell and Southampton's Walker-Peters have joined up with the squad after Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold were forced to pull out through injury. Aaron Ramsdale and Tammy Abraham have also dropped out of the reckoning with injuries of their own, which means recalls for Sam Johnstone and Ollie Watkins.

Both Johnstone and Watkins have previously been capped by England, while Mitchell and Walker-Peters are entering the fold for the first time. England are due to take on Switzerland on March 26 and Cote d'Ivoire three days later, with both games taking place at Wembley Stadium.

22-year-old left-back Mitchell hasn't represented England at any level, and only made his senior Premier League debut for Palace in 2020. If he features against Cote d'Ivoire, he could find himself up against club teammate Wilfried Zaha, who played twice for the Three Lions before switching his international allegiances.

Walker-Peters, meanwhile, will be an option on both sides of the back four, though he is more comfortable at right-back. The 24-year-old has represented England at every level from under-18 to under-21, all during his time on the books of Tottenham Hotspur, and made a permanent switch to Southampton in the summer of 2020 after impressing on loan.

Johnstone and Watkins, meanwhile were both in Southgate's pre-tournament 33-man squad ahead of Euro 2020, though the Aston Villa striker didn't make the final cut. Watkins last represented his country against Hungary in October, and Johnstone's last senior cap came the same month in a victory over Andorra.

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Johnstone joins Nick Pope and Jordan Pickford as one of three goalkeepers in the squad. Mitchell is one of two Palace defenders to make the cut, with Marc Guehi also rewarded for his performances.

The other defenders in the squad are Walker-Peters, Conor Coady, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones and Ben White. In midfield, Southgate has selected Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Declan Rice and James Ward-Prowse.

In attack, England's options are Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling and the recalled Watkins. Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho of Manchester United are among the higher profile omissions, having both featured at the Euros last summer, with Southgate saying there are other players ahead of the pair this season amid a difficult few months for the Old Trafford pair.