Thomas Tuchel has announced his England squad for the upcoming friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier in Latvia. Notable omissions are high-profile players, but fit-again Bukayo Saka and John Stones are included. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish remain absent despite their impressive form, with only three changes from the September squad.
Thomas Tuchel has given another opportunity to the players who impressed him in September, leaving out star names Jack Grealish, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden from England’s October internationals.
Adam Wharton is also not included in the squad for the friendly against Wales at Wembley on Thursday, October 9, and the World Cup qualifying match against Latvia on Tuesday, October 14. Fit-again Bukayo Saka makes his return, while the injured Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento are not available.
“We reached a new level and new standards in the last camp,” said Tuchel. “It was clearly visible in the match against Serbia. Why not pick the same players and squad if they are available? They have to prove the point again. They set the standard and now they have to make sure the standards become more stable. This is the chance they have.”
Bellingham, who was named England’s player of the year this week, has only made one start for Real Madrid since returning from shoulder surgery. Tuchel remarked of Bellingham, “He deserves to always be in camp.” “The situation is that he has not yet found his full rhythm [since returning from his injury].”
Grealish has made an impression during his loan at Everton, contributing four assists in six matches. However, he has not yet been included in a squad under Tuchel, and his most recent appearance for England was in October 2024.
Foden, who missed the June internationals to focus on his physical and mental health and was subsequently not selected in September, has been excelling for Man City, contributing two goals and two assists.
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John Stones, who withdrew from the last call-up due to injury, is now back in action for Man City and has been included again.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek of AC Milan receives another call-up, having stepped in for Wharton last month when the Crystal Palace midfielder withdrew due to injury. Wharton has been the starter for Palace in their last three matches, and he played the full 90 minutes in their Conference League victory over Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night.
Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also sidelined due to injuries. Jarell Quansah, who was also a late call-up last month, keeps his position.
With their victories in September, England secured their position at the top of Group K in World Cup qualifying. If Serbia does not win against Albania on October 12, England will be only one victory away from securing their spot at next summer’s World Cup.
Since coming back from injury, Bellingham has played three times as a substitute for Real Madrid and made his first start of the season in the 5–2 loss against Atletico Madrid, their rivals. Tuchel cited Bellingham’s absence of “rhythm” as the reason for his omission from the latest squad when questioned about it.
“First of all, Jude is a very special player. For special players, there can always be special rules,” Tuchel said.
“For this camp, we decided to invite the same team. That applies to Jude; he deserves to always be in camp.
“The situation is he has not gathered full rhythm. He hasn’t finished one full match and has only started one match. When he gets back to full strength, there is an extra layer to the decision.
“He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call but he just lacks rhythm. We stayed with our decision.”
A question regarding Bellingham’s importance to the national team followed, to which Tuchel added: “Do I believe we’re a stronger team with Jude? Yes. Is he one of the best players in the world in midfield? Yes.
“But what are we doing if a player like Jude is injured before the World Cup? Do we not travel? This is a team sport. We have to find solutions if players are injured, like now Cole Palmer.
“We found solutions in the last camp. This is more about the last camp and what we started to build than the dependency on individual players. It can never be the solution to depend on one player in football.”
“It has [magnified the situation]. Tuchel made it clear that if he wanted to, he could have called Bellingham up into this squad.
“While he acknowledged that Bellingham is recovering from a shoulder operation, he made it clear that it was a decision to leave him out, along with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
“It is really shocking and we cannot understate what a huge decision this is, especially at No 10.
“The general consensus is that England’s three best No 10s are Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
“Palmer is not available but the other two are. Foden is playing great but Tuchel chose not to select them.
“The only reason he has done that is because the 5-0 win against Serbia was really impressive, and there was a good mood in camp. He wanted to reward the players for that.”
England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Henderson, Pickford, Trafford.
Defenders: Burn, Guehi, James, Konsa, Lewis-Skelly, Quansah, Spence, Stones.
Midfielders: Anderson, Gibbs-White, Henderson, Loftus-Cheek, Rice, Rogers.
Forwards: Bowen, Eze, Gordon, Kane, Rashford, Saka, Watkins.
