England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate has recalled Marcus Rashford and included the uncapped Jesse Lingard in his first squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia after stepping in for the sacked Sam Allardyce.

Right-back Glen Johnson returns for the first time since the 2014 World Cup while forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is recalled after a year’s absence and Ryan Bertrand is also back in the squad named last night, among five changes from the 1-0 win in Slovakia.

“We’ve tried to keep some continuity from last month because my view would be that there are a lot of things that have been going right,” Southgate told the FA website .

“There are obviously a couple of players that I’ve worked with in the Under-21s with Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, who we think are exciting young players who we wanted to put in this squad,” added Southgate, who is also the Under-21 coach.

England host Malta on Saturday before facing Slovenia the following Tuesday. Southgate will also be in charge at home to Scotland in a third World Cup qualifier in November and for an international friendly with Spain.

Southgate’s Squad

Goalkeepers: Forster (Southampton), Hart (Torino), Heaton (Burnley).

Defenders: Bertrand (Southampton), Cahill (Chelsea), Jagielka (Everton), Johnson (Stoke City), Rose (Tottenham), Smalling (Manchester United), Stones (Manchester City), Walker (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Dier (Tottenham), Henderson (Liverpool), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Antonio (West Ham), Lingard (Manchester United), Sterling (Manchester City), Walcott (Arsenal), Alli (Tottenham).

Forwards: Rooney, Rashford (both Manchester United), Sturridge (Liverpool), Vardy (Leicester City).