Trent Alexander-Arnold was the big omission from England’s surprise 35-man squad as Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo were called up for the first time under Thomas Tuchel.
Aston Villa’s out-of-form striker Ollie Watkins also misses out despite Tuchel naming 10 forwards in an extraordinary selection that gives a group of fringe players one last audition before the 2026 World Cup.
Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke are the two out-and-out strikers called up along with Harry Kane to compete for the role of the captain’s backup in friendlies against Uruguay (March 27) and Japan (March 31) at Wembley.
Everton midfielder James Garner has earned his first inclusion in a senior international squad, while there is a surprise recall for AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori, who last played for England in 2023.
Tuchel says he has chosen this squad, which will essentially be split into separate camps for each game, “to open up the competition for plane tickets to the US”.
Brighton’s back-up goalkeeper Jason Steele, who is uncapped and has not played in the Premier League since August 2024, is named in the squad, with Tuchel planning a special role for him at the World Cup. Revealing England would take four goalkeepers to the tournament, Tuchel said Steele “will support the goalkeeper group. He will support the goalkeeper coach. He will support a penalty-taking group and take a lot of workload off the other shoulders. That’s why we need an experienced guy.”
Alex Scott and Nick Pope, named in the November squad, miss out here, with Pope now having lost his place at club and international level to Aaron Ramsdale. Ramsdale and Manchester City’s James Trafford are in the squad along with first-choice Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson.
Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James were in the November squad but are now out injured.
Tuchel explains ‘extraordinary’ squad selection
Explaining his squad selection, Tuchel said: “We decided to divide it into two camps, almost. We have a camp where we bring players in who we haven’t seen, who haven’t played so much to open up the competition for plane tickets to the US. From Friday/Saturday, a group will come into camp who get a rest before. We will go with a new group of players into the match against Japan.”
Sky Sports News has been told that each nation will be able to select 26 players for this summer’s tournament.
‘Never seen a camp like it’ – will Tuchel experiment work?
Sky Sports News football correspondent Rob Dorsett: “The 35 players’ selection is fascinating. Not been done before, has it? It’s a new approach and the one thing we’ve seen from Tuchel is that he’s not afraid to rip up the copybook and try things. It’s innovative. It’s interesting to see if the dynamic works. If he’s that clearly delineated in terms of these are our new guys, let’s see how they get on and this is our more established players that we will give more rest to. That’s going to lead to an interesting dynamic when it comes to picking the squad and seeing who is available and who is still in the camp by the time we get to that first game a week from tomorrow. I’m hugely surprised there’s no Trent Alexander-Arnold. You have to say, he will be very fearful for his chances of making the World Cup squad now.”
Full England squad list
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Aaron Ramsdale, Jason Steele.
Defenders: Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall, Ezri Konsa, Tino Livramento, Harry Maguire, Nico O’Reilly, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, John Stones, Fikayo Tomori.
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, James Garner, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Adam Wharton.
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Dominic Solanke.