London - Declan Rice's decision to switch international allegiance to England was rewarded with his first call-up to Gareth Southgate's squad on Wednesday for Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro later this month.

West Ham midfielder Rice made three international appearances for the Republic of Ireland but all of them in friendly matches.

The highly rated 20-year-old was born in London but qualified for Ireland via paternal grandparents.

However, after much deliberation he announced last month he would be pursuing an international career with England and his switch was ratified by FIFA last week.

England squad to face the Czech Republic on March 22 and Montenegro on March 25 in Euro 2020 qualifiers:

Goalkeepers

Jack Butland (Stoke City), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell, Harry Maguire (both Leicester City), Michael Keane (Everton), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones, Kyle Walker (both Manchester City), Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier (both Tottenham Hotspur), James Tarkowski (Burnley)

Midfielders

Dele Alli, Eric Dier, (both Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley (both Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Fabian Delph (Manchester City)

Forwards

Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)