Luke Shaw, Joe Gomez Named in England Squad for Spain and Switzerland Matches

England manager Gareth Southgate has included Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw and Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez in his squad for the upcoming international matches with Spain and Switzerland.

The squad is the first one named by Southgate since England's excellent performance at the FIFA World Cup, where they made it to the semi-finals of the competition. 

The team's Twitter account detailed the squad in full:

In addition to the two players mentioned, Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana and Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski have also been called up, having been on standby for the Russia showpiece.

England's first match since losing to Croatia in Russia will be against Spain in their first UEFA Nations League meeting at Wembley on Saturday, Sept. 8. 

The Three Lions then face Switzerland in a friendly match at Leicester City's King Power Stadium three days later.

"We're obviously coming off the back of a successful summer, so I think there's a good foundation for us to build on," Southgate said, per the FA website. "With us only being three games into the season, I felt some continuity was important, so those who were with us in the summer deserve the right to go again."

Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe commented on some of the rising stars that have been left out of the setup:

The squad doesn't contain Ashley Young, who started all but one of England's games in Russia. In addition, both Jamie Vardy and Gary Cahill are not involved after they both opted to step aside from international football to focus on their club careers.

Shaw's inclusion is perhaps the biggest takeaway. The left-back has suffered with fitness and a lack of form in recent years, although so far this season he's impressed for a struggling United team. 

Per BBC Sport's Simon Stone, Southgate commented on the attitude he has shown so far in 2018-19 in challenging circumstances:

Gomez was part of Southgate's squads prior to the World Cup and was impressive as part of a three-man defence in friendly games against Germany and Brazil. In the end, he missed the competition because of injury.

However, with Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip not ready to start matches in the Premier League yet, Gomez has been operating in the centre of defence alongside Virgil van Dijk. 

Journalist Jack Lusby believes Gomez would've started at the World Cup for the Three Lions had it not been for his fitness issues:

Elsewhere, Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has been rewarded for his start to the season by getting a call-up. He's yet to feature for the senior England side.