{"id":3754,"date":"2017-03-16T13:14:11","date_gmt":"2017-03-16T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=3754"},"modified":"2017-03-16T13:14:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-16T17:14:11","slug":"jermain-defoe-back-england-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2017\/03\/16\/jermain-defoe-back-england-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Jermain Defoe Returns to the England Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe\u00a0returns to\u00a0the England squad after being called up by manager Gareth Southgate this week.\u00a0Defoe has been on an\u00a0impressive run of form since returning to the Black Cats and is the second-highest English goalscorer in the Premier League this season.<\/p>\n

Jermain Defoe Returns to the England Squad<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With a flurry of injuries to some of England’s top strikers, including Harry Kane<\/a>, Daniel Sturridge and captain Wayne Rooney, we can expect Defoe to be featuring heavily in what is quite an inexperienced squad.<\/p>\n

The other two forwards who have been called up alongside the veteran striker are Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford and Leicester City’s\u00a0Jamie Vardy. With both of these players struggling to find their form\u00a0from last season, it will be interesting to see if Southgate relies on Defoe to get his team the points at Wembley Stadium\u00a0when they face Lithuania on March 26.<\/p>\n

Defoe has been capped by his country 55 times, scoring 19 goals, but has not appeared for England since a 2-0 home defeat to Chile in 2013.<\/p>\n

After Defoe’s stellar return to Premier League form since his arrival at Wearside, there were many questioning his exclusion from the England squad for the\u00a0European Championships last summer. Defoe will be hoping for a convincing display later this month in order to prove that he would have been able to carry his national team further than that dismal Round of 16 display against minnows\u00a0Iceland.<\/p>\n

At 34 years old, it is obvious that Defoe’s tournament window is closing, and therefore he will be desperate to keep his form going and try\u00a0to force his way into Southgate’s plans for next summer’s FIFA World Cup in Russia, a full eight years since his last appearance\u00a0at an international tournament.<\/p>\n

The emergence of youth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite the inclusion of Jermain Defoe, Southgate has named a very inexperienced squad, with four previously uncapped players. Southampton’s Nathan Redmond\u00a0and\u00a0<\/strong>James Ward-Prowse,\u00a0Burnley centre-back\u00a0Michael Keane\u00a0and West Ham’s\u00a0versatile\u00a0<\/strong>Michail Antonio\u00a0all are receiving their first respective call-ups.<\/p>\n

There is also a surprising return to the England setup for\u00a0West Brom’s\u00a0Jake Livermore, who has not featured for England since his first appearance in a friendly win over Italy in 2012.<\/p>\n

It’s not surprising that the manager is choosing to include more and more young players, with the likes of\u00a0Dele Alli,\u00a0Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,\u00a0Redmond\u00a0<\/strong>and more all featuring heavily for Southgate during his tenure as the England U-21’s\u00a0boss.<\/p>\n

With a tough away friendly against the current world champions\u00a0Germany acting\u00a0<\/strong>as a precursor for their World Cup qualifier, this will prove as a chance for all of these fringe players to stake their place in the England side moving forward.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n