Thomas Tuchel has announced his first squad as England manager. The former Bayern Munich coach has called up two debutants for the two home games at Wembley against Albania and Latvia – and has surprised many with two returns.
It has been clear for months that Thomas Tuchel will become England’s national coach. However, since the former Bundesliga coach only signed on from 2025, he still has to wait for his debut. Next Friday, the time has come when the Three Lions host the Albanian national team for the first game of the World Cup qualifiers.
Two players could also make their England debut at Wembley. Tuchel has named 32-year-old Newcastle United defender Dan Burn and Arsenal’s 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, two newcomers who will be able to show themselves in the vice-European champions’ circle for the first time. In addition, the 51-year-old surprisingly called up three players who had not played a role under interim coach Lee Carsley recently – and were not part of the squad at the European Championship in the summer, when they were still under Gareth Southgate.
Grealish and Lewis, among others, are missing
So is Marcus Rashford (previously 60 caps) after his move to Aston Villa for the first time in about a year, with Jordan Henderson, a former leader with the experience of 81 caps, returns to the ranks of the Three Lions. The defensive midfielder last played for England in November 2023 and had been gradually phased out after moving to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023. Even his return to Europe to Ajax Amsterdam did not help. Until now.
It has been two years since Chelsea’s Reece James, who last appeared for England in March 2023, had to wait for another nomination. On the other hand, some prominent names are also missing from Tuchel’s first squad: Jack Grealish, who was not nominated in November, and Rico Lewis from Manchester City are not included, nor are Ollie Watkins, Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes or Morgan Gibbs-White – who were still part of the squad under Carsley.
The squad at a glance:
Goal:Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton FC), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton FC), James Trafford (Burnley FC)
Defense: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Levi Colwill (Chelsea FC), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea FC), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal FC), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool FC), Kyle Walker (AC Milan)
Midfield: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Ajax Amsterdam), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Sturm: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (FC Bayern München), Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur)