Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker have been left out of England’s squad for the FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Thomas Tuchel, on his 52nd birthday, handed maiden call-ups to Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliott Anderson and Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence, and international returns to Jarrod Bowen, Marc Guehi, Tino Livramento, Marcus Rashford, John Stones and Adam Wharton. Injuries ruled out Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.
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Tuchel gave Alexander-Arnold a warning when naming the wing-back in his previous squad. “I can see that sometimes he relies heavily on his offensive contributions, and gives not so much emphasis on the defensive discipline and effort,” said the German. “He has to take the defensive part very seriously.” After an examining start to life at Real Madrid, the 26-year-old was dropped by his country.
Foden has played just 16 minutes for Manchester City this season after returning from an ankle injury, while 35-year-old Walker, who has won 96 England caps, also finds himself out in the cold.
Grealish scored two goals in his last three appearances for England, but hasn’t played for them since October 2024 due to a lack of game time at City, for whom he made only seven Premier League starts last season. The 29-year-old recently joined Everton on loan and registered two assists as they beat Brighton last weekend, leading to expectation he would make Tuchel’s group.
“They will stay in the mix,” said Tuchel of Alexander-Arnold and Grealish. “I know how desperate they are to come back. The competition is up.”
Newcomers
Anderson came through the ranks at the same youth team, Wallsend Boys, as former England internationals Peter Beardsley, Alan Shearer and Michael Carrick. After beginning his career at Newcastle United, he had a superb first season at Forest. Anderson performed a fundamental function as England edged Germany 3-2 in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final in June.
“Elliot Anderson, very physical, a lot of volume, very precise, clean passing, so it’s a good package,” said Tuchel. “Tino Liveramento is also with us, because they had a fantastic [Under-21 EURO]. Elliot was a key player in the tournament, pressed a lot in central midfield.
“[He’s a] regular for Nottingham Forest, they had a fantastic season. I guess he’s excited to come and join us, and we hope he can make his mark.”
Spence is fresh from a superb 2024/25 for Tottenham Hotspur during which he helped them conquer the UEFA Europa League. The 25-year-old can play at right- or left-back.
England began World Cup 26 qualifying by beating Albania 2-0, Latvia 3-0 and Andorra 1-0. Albania are second in Group K with five points from four games. Serbia are third with four from two.
The Three Lions will take on Andorra at Villa Park in Birmingham on 6 September, and Serbia at Stadion Crvene Zvezde in Belgrade three days later.
England squad
Goalkeepers
Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
Jordan Pickford (Everton)
James Trafford (Burnley)
Centre-backs
Dan Burn (Newcastle)
Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace)
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
John Stones (Manchester City)
Full-backs
Reece James (Chelsea)
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)
Tino Livramento (Newcastle United)
Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur
Midfielders
Elliott Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)
Jordan Henderson (Brentford)
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Attackers
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Noni Madueke (Chelsea)
Marcus Rashford (Barcelona)
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
