Phillips and Coady handed England debuts in Denmark

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips and Wolves defender Conor Coady have been selected to make their England debuts in the Nations League clash against Denmark in Copenhagen.

Gareth Southgate’s side got their campaign off to a winning start on Saturday, prevailing 1-0 thanks to Raheem Sterling’s penalty amid a dramatic conclusion against Iceland.

England’s preparations for their second Scandinavian encounter of the week were thrown into flux by Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood – who made their senior international debuts in Reykjavik – being sent home after breaking coronavirus quarantine restrictions at the team hotel.

Phillips and Coady’s inclusions herald a return to the three centre-backs system – a setup Southgate deployed successfully on the way to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

Coady will join Joe Gomez and Eric Dier in the back three, with Phillips anchoring the midfield alongside Declan Rice.

Two debutants in the #ThreeLions starting line-up tonight!

Congratulations, lads  pic.twitter.com/N1hUpqcu1m

— England (@England) September 8, 2020

Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in at right wing-back, with Kyle Walker suspended due to a red card against Iceland, with Kieran Trippier on the left.

The weekend front three of Sterling, Jadon Sancho and skipper Harry Kane remains unchanged.

Denmark are aiming to avoid back-to-back home defeats after going down 2-0 to Belgium last time out.