Thomas Touchel has left Everton’s lender Jack Grelish, Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Real Madrid’s superstar Jude Bellingham on his latest England squad.
The friendly ties with Wales and the teams for the World Cup qualifying round to Latvia this month were announced on Friday morning.
There are several questionable choices out there, with three Lions head coach Tuchel ignoring the poor club format of many players.
He is also calling players struggling with game time. Arsenal’s Miles Lewis Skelly is on the team despite playing the second fiddle for Ricardo Calfioli this semester.
The importance of John Stones at Tuchel’s is highlighted by his call as he has only played three minutes of Premier League football since last month’s international break.
He was joined by Manchester City teammate James Trafford. James Trafford is warming up the bench following the signature of Yasin Trophy Holder Genluigi Donnaruma.
Trafford is the goalkeeper of Tuchel’s third choice, so no one is overly bothered by his inclusion. Nick Pope may be, depending on whether he is troubled by sitting on the bench for two international matches when he can cool down at home.
Elsewhere, it includes Aston Villa Trio Ezli Consa, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers.
Rogers was fantastic with his victory over Serbia last month, but the shape of his club was absolutely shocking.
Villa has started the season badly, but they won three consecutive matches in all competitions after beating Feyenoold in the Europa League on Thursday.
Watkins is another poor villa player this semester after a nine-game goal drought against Fulham over the weekend.
Nottingham Forest’s call to Morgan Gibbs White feels strange considering his form in 2025/26.
He registered the assist in Forest’s 3-2 home defeat to FC Midtjylland on Thursday, but he is another England player who doesn’t deserve a call if he is based on his team in his current form.
After recovering from his injury, Bukayo Saka returned to the English squad, joining Arsenal fellow Declan Rice, Evere Eze and Louis Skelly.
Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson has maintained his position and is taking part in the inform by Brent Fordman’s Jordan Henderson, who deserves his choice this time.
Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Dan Byrne are included. For me, there’s no controversy, Clive.
Crystal Palace captain Mark Guech and goalkeeper Dean Henderson deserve their place on Tohel’s 23-man team, while Jarrod Bowen comes in despite West Ham’s season’s garbage start.
Chelsea Captain Reese James and Tottenham Hotspur’s full-back DJED Spence may be appropriate, but this may be controversial, and so does Harry Kane.
There are four representatives from foreign clubs. Bayern Munich striker Kane, AC Milan midfielder Rubenloftasteak, Barcelona forward Marcus Rashford (on loan from Manchester United), and Bayer Lebakusen defender Jarrel Cuanza.
When it comes to people who aren’t on the team, Jack Grelish should find it extremely difficult.
To be honest, given his form on loan at Everton, it’s hard to believe that Grealish is not on the team. He led the Premier League for assists in 2025/26, registering four games in six games.
Tuchel may not fantasize about him, and may not consider Grealish a realistic option when the World Cup comes next summer.
There are also questions about why Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were ruled out.
Foden did not make himself available to England in the summer for personal reasons, but he is flying back to the city. And in terms of actual ability, he is one of the most talented players available to Chuchel.
Bellingham is potentially large. Tuchel sparked debate with some interesting words about the Real Madrid star after a friendly defeat to Senegal in June.
Just add fuel to the fire. Certainly he was injured in Madrid, but Bellingham has returned and is featured in his club’s final four matches.
Taking Kane out of the conversation, it is widely accepted that Bellingham is England’s best and most important player. It will be interesting to see how Tuchel rotates this. With everything we know, he is very generous with the club and has not been called out to players who are still up to attract this campaign, like Bellingham and Foden.
To be honest, we’re quite plagued by Tuchel’s team, but it’s clear that he was looking for continuity and didn’t want to make too many changes. But I don’t allow some of those calls or omissions…
Oh, there’s no one from Liverpool or Manchester United.
Full England Team:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford
Defenders: Dan Byrne, Mark Guech, Reese James, Ezri Consa, Miles Lewis Skelly, Jarrell Quansa, DJED Spence, John Stones
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs White, Jordan Henderson, Reuben Loftus Cheek, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Ebere Eze, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins
