Aston Villa forward Marcus Rashford has been named in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad as England manager.

Rashford last played for England in a friendly against Brazil in March 2024 but has impressed since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United in January.

Newcastle defender Dan Burn and Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly are in line for debuts after receiving their first call up.

England start their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup with a double-header at Wembley against Albania and Latvia on Friday, 21 and Monday, 24 March respectively (both 19:45 GMT kick-offs).

Tuchel has also recalled a senior figure with Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson in the 26-man squad.

Henderson, 34, made his senior debut for the national side under the last non-English manager – Fabio Capello – in 2010 and last featured against Malta in November 2023.

Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford and Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah are hoping to win their first caps for the senior side.

Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke returned from two months injury on Sunday, playing the full game in a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

Rashford is yet to score at Villa but has chipped in with four assists as he seeks to get his career back on track.

The 27-year-old has won 60 caps for England, scoring eight goals, but fell out of favour with then manager Gareth Southgate following a drop-off in form at Manchester United.

“Marcus is on a good way, we thought now we were convinced that it is the right time to push him with his nomination,” Tuchel told England’s media channel.

“He has had a huge impact lately for Aston Villa. I was delighted to see his effort against the ball, his effort to be the best team-mate possible, his consistent energy in defence with Aston Villa.

“There is no doubt about his talent and quality but to see him be so decisive and so involved physically gave me the impression it was the right moment to call him up and give him the extra push that he stays on that level.”

Rashford sat out 12 successive games for Manchester United before agreeing to spend the second half of the campaign at Villa, with United manager Ruben Amorim suggesting he would rather select 63-year-old goalkeeping Jorge Vital.

He was omitted from the Euro 2024 squad, where England were beaten in the final by Spain, while he also missed out on the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.

In 2020, Tuchel, who was in charge of Paris St-Germain, called Rashford a “big threat” and joked he was a “bit annoying” before a match against Manchester United in the Champions League.

Villa team-mate Watkins has delivered strong figures at club level this campaign with 14 goals and 12 assists to help Villa reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup.

But he suffered a minor knee injury during the 3-0 victory over Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Solanke, who has scored seven times in 19 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, is preferred as support to England’s leading marksman Harry Kane.