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Marc Guehi: England call Crystal Palace defender for friendly matches

Marc Guehi captained the England Under-21s during the previous international break

England have called up Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi for a friendly against Switzerland and Côte d’Ivoire this month.

Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher, Arsenal defender Ben White and Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope have been recalled by manager Gareth Southgate.

Defenders Kyle Walker and strikers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have been ruled out.

England face Switzerland on March 26 and Ivory Coast on March 29 at Wembley.

Guehi, a 21-year-old Côte d’Ivoire defender, has played in all but one of Palace’s 29 Premier League games this season since from Chelsea last summer.

“He had a really consistent season – really impressed on the ball and on the ball,” Southgate said.

“In the biggest games, he was very calm. He is a Junior World Cup winner.”

Injuries ruled out Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell and Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, while Manchester United’s Luke Shaw is the only unrecognized left-back in the squad.

England have never played in the Ivory Coast at senior level and the match will be their first against non-European opposition since November 2018.

England will play four Nations League games in June, with trips to Hungary and Germany followed by a repeat of the Euro 2020 final at home to Italy and a home game against Hungary.

Goalkeepers: Nick Pope, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale.

Defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White.

Midfielder: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse.

Forward: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling.

Southgate said the departure of Manchester City defender Walker, who has won 65 caps, did not hurt his chances of playing in the Word Cup this year.

“I had a chat with Kyle. We felt this was an opportunity to watch the two younger backs. These young backs are exciting,” Southgate said.

“We know everything there is to know about Kyle. He is a very important player and he will be back with us in June.

“We are very pleased with what he has done. He was a big part of the progress we have made with this team and you can see in the biggest games with Manchester City this year that he was still a key player for them. “

Sancho scored three goals in 23 games for England and was part of the squad that reached the finals of last summer’s European Championships.

He was also overseen for England’s last game, the World Cup qualifier victories over San Marino and Albania in November.

“Jadon’s performance has improved at Manchester United, but it’s an area where we have a lot of competition for places,” Southgate said.

“You just have to watch the other attacking players in the squad: Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Phil Foden.”

Southgate said “there was no chance we would not call” Manchester United defender Harry Maguire despite criticism of his recent performances.

“He’s one of our best central defenders,” Southgate said. “I’m always criticized for being inconsistent, but there are nuances. We have more competition in the big areas.”

Analysis

Phil McNulty, BBC Sports Chief Football Writer

Maguire can be considered very happy to keep Southgate’s faith due to his current terrible form for United, even though team-mate Rashford has paid the price for his relegation.

Maguire must not be under any illusion that he is something like an automatic choice with the inclusion of Guehi in the presence of White.

AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori may have had stronger demands than United captain Maguire in the current circumstances and it seems loyalty rather than form kept Maguire in Southgate’s mind.

Gallagher will also hope to get another chance after his exceptional form under manager Patrick Vieira at the Palace.

Sancho has shown signs of coming to life at Old Trafford in recent weeks, but needs to do more to impress Southgate and regain his place in the squad.