Watkins, Bowen called into England squad as Sterling, Mount miss out

Forwards Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen have returned to the England squad for a friendly against Australia and a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy but there is again no place for Raheem Sterling.

Manager Gareth Southgate named a 26-man group for the October double-header on Thursday, with uncapped Levi Colwill and Eddie Nketiah again getting the nod.

England host Australia at Wembley on October 13 before taking on defending champions Italy at the same ground on October 17 in a repeat of the European Championship final in 2021.

Watkins, who has not been called up since March last year, returns days after Southgate watched the striker score a hat-trick in Aston Villa’s 6-1 win against Brighton.

Bowen is back in the England fold for the first time since September 2022, having scored five goals in seven league games for West Ham.

Sterling is conspicuous by his absence after Southgate overlooked the 82-cap Chelsea forward, and Mason Mount is also missing despite returning to action with Manchester U

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