gareth After the shocking end of Sam Allardyce’s reign as England manager which lasted only 67 days, the interim manager, Gareth Southgate has named his first 23-man squad for the two World Cup qualifying matches against Malta and Slovenia in international week.

The full squad: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, loan from Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Stoke City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City).

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the squad was a recall for Stoke right-back Johnson whose previous game his 54th cap was in a 2-1 loss to Uruguay at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Johnson, 32, has been brought back from the cold after Liverpool’s Nathaniel Clyne was ruled out with a knee problem, while his club-mate Adam Lallana has a groin injury.

Gareth Southgate speaking on some of the notable absentees in the squad said: “Some people are unavailable through injury, like Kane, Butland, we’ve lost Drinkwater, Lallana, Clyne over the weekend, Luke Shaw is not quite fully fit yet - so that’s had a bearing on the squad.”

On Wayne Rooney’s captaincy: "The decision to make him captain is quite simple," Southgate said, in his first England press conference since being placed in charge.
"What I felt from what I have seen around St George's, what I gleaned from talking to staff over the two years, is that he is the outstanding leader in the group.
"The most important thing at this time is leadership, on and off the field, and Wayne has provided that over the last two years.
"The way he has matured into that is really impressive. I have no doubt in my mind about keeping him in that position’.

Rooney endured a disappointing Euro 2016 and has lost his starting spot at Manchester United after a poor start to the season.
Credit: Daraja Mutari