Sancho dropped by England as Bellingham returns to squad

Jadon Sancho has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.

The winger has paid the price for poor form and a lack of game time since his big-money move to Manchester United in the summer.

Kieran Trippier and Jesse Lingard have also been dropped from the 25-man squad by Southgate for the games against Albania and San Marino.

Southgate said: "With Jesse and with Jadon they just aren’t playing a lot of football compared to other players in their positions. 

"I know people say I’m inconsistent but I don’t think I am. If you’re playing regularly for your club, you’ve got a much better chance of us assessing your level compared to the rest of the group. 

"Sometimes there will be a lot of depth in one position and there might not be as much depth in another position. A player in that position will therefore have a better chance of getting in with less club time. 

"With these two lads, they’ve got great competition for places in the positions they play and Jesse has had 10, 15 minutes. I don’t know what his form or fitness is really to assess him against the rest of the group. 

"Both of those players totally understood that when I spoke to them. 

"They get it and they know they have got to get playing for their clubs and playing well. Then England is a bonus on the top."

Jude Bellingham is back in the fold after being rested in October, as is Ben Chilwell — following his impressive form for Chelsea — and Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse.

Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Marcus Rashford also all return following injuries.

That means no place for either Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins or AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori, with Mason Greenwood continuing to miss out.

Ben White is another player who will feel unlucky not to be included at the expense of Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings.

His Arsenal team-mate Emile Smith Rowe will once again go away with Lee Carsley and the England Under-21s despite calls for him to earn a maiden senior call up.

Southgate namechecked the 21-year-old alongside Crystal Palace duo Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi as youngsters pushing hard for a spot.

He added: "I think Emile Smith Rowe, Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi in particular are playing very well with their clubs but we've got depth, and to put those in, we've got to leave some of these on the sheet out. 

"It's not a bad thing that we're starting to get a very strong U-21 team because you want that depth. 

"The boys I've just mentioned are on a really good path, we like them, we get a good chance to see them with the U-21s, as well as with their clubs, but at the moment we think it's a little bit early for some of those guys to come in. 

"We could put them in and they will be absolutely fine by the way, but we think the players we've picked are just a little bit ahead at the moment."

England will look to confirm qualification for next winter's World Cup in Qatar when they host Albania next Friday before a trip to San Marino three days later.

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Chilwell, Conor Coady, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse

Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling