INTERNATIONALS: Vardy Named In England Squad

- Danny Drinkwater misses out with a minor groin injury

- Shinji Okazaki looking for his 50th international goal for Japan

The Three Lions face Malta at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 October as they look to build on their winning start to life in Group F and take another step towards the 2018 finals in Russia. 

Following the Malta fixture, Southgate’s men will travel to Slovenia on Tuesday 11 October in their third Group G fixture, having beaten Slovakia 1-0 in their first game thanks to a late Adam Lallana strike.

Vardy has four goals in his 11 England appearances and will be keen to add to that tally if given the opportunity in a highly competitive squad. 

One name missing from the list of players is Vardy’s City team-mate Danny Drinkwater, who is not available for selection due to a minor groin injury.

Elsewhere Algerian duo Islam Slimani and Riyad Mahrez will join their nation for a home clash against Cameroon in World Cup Qualifying on Sunday 9 October while Ahmed Musa and Nigeria will travel to Zambia on the same date for their fixture. 

City pair Jeffrey Schlupp and Daniel Amartey have both been selected by Ghana for a home World Cup Qualifier against Uganda on Friday 7 October, which will be followed by a friendly away to South Africa four days later. 

In Asia, Shinji Okazaki will go in search of his 50th international goal for Japan in their double header of World Cup Qualifiers. The first of which sees them host Iraq on Thursday 6 October before a long trip to Australia the following Tuesday. 

Andy King and Wales also face tricky World Cup Qualification matches away in Austria on Thursday 6 October and at home to Georgia on Sunday 9 October. 

City ‘keepers Kasper Schmeichel and Ron-Robert Zieler have been selected by Denmark and Germany respectively.

Schmeichel’s Danes travel to Poland on Saturday 8 October before hosting Montenegro on Tuesday 11 October, while the Germans have two home games against Czech Republic and Northern Ireland on the same dates. 

Lining up against Schmeichel in that matches against Poland could be City winger Bartosz Kapustka, with the Poles also facing another home game against Armenia on Tuesday 11 October. 

Both Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray will be part of the England Under-21s side for games away to Kazakhstan on Thursday 6 October and at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday 11 October. 

Young goalkeeper Daniel Iversen Is in the Denmark Undere-20s squad for games against Finland on Wednesday 5 October and Sweden on Monday 10 October, with both fixtures taking place in Finland. 

Academy youngster Darnell Johnson will link up with England Under-19s for their matches against Croatia and Bulgaria in Zagreb and Wycombe respectively.