England squad: Ivan Toney & Jarrad Branthwaite join Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon in squad as Gareth Southgate drops Kalvin Phillips for Brazil and Belgium friendlies

Southgate has sprung a few surprises with his latest selection. Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been recalled after returning from his eight-month ban for breaching gambling rules, while Newcastle's Anthony Gordon, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Chelsea's Cole Palmer also get the nod. Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite also earns a first senior international call-up.

West Ham midfielder Kalvin Phillips is the most noticeable absentee after being dropped from the squad following a tough season. Philipps struggled for game time in the first half of the campaign and is yet to make an impact at West Ham following his loan move. Jack Grealish also misses out due to injury,while LiverpooL's Joe Gomez and Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa are called-up amid injuries to Luke Shaw, Marc Guehi, Kieran Trippier, and Reece James.

Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Ben Chilwell, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, James Maddison, Declan Rice

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins

Southgate spoke about his decision to drop Phillips at a news conference: "I think he knows exactly what we think of him. A good version of him is an important player for us. We don't have many players of that profile.

"Unfortunately, his form just hasn't been good enough. I've spoken to him, he knows that. I said to him towards the end of last year, if he didn't play at City, it was going to be a problem."

Southgate also spoke about his decision to call up Branthwaite: "He's played consistently well. We watched him as a back-up centre-half for the under-21s. If you said a year ago he would consistently play in the Premier League, I would have been surprised. Credit to Sean Dyche. He's in on merit. We're looking forward to having a look at him."

The latest call up is the last chance for players to impress Southgate and try to secure a place on the plane for Euro 2024. The two friendlies are England's final games before Southgate names his 23-man squad for this summer's European Championship in Germany.

England's first game is against Brazil at Wembley on Saturday, March 23. The Three Liones play Belgium three days later at the same venue.