Tuchel annoys as Foden, Grealish, Bellingham snubs exacerbated by Rogers call-up

Thomas Tuchel has left in-form Everton loanee Jack Grealish, Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham out of his latest England squad.

The England squad for the friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier away to Latvia this month was announced on Friday morning.

There are several questionable selections in there, with Three Lions head coach Tuchel ignoring the poor club form of many players.

He’s also called up players who are struggling for game time, with Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly in the squad despite playing second-fiddle to Riccardo Calafiori this term.

John Stones’s importance in Tuchel’s has been emphasised by his call-up as he has only played three minutes of Premier League football since last month’s international break.

He’s joined by Manchester City team-mate James Trafford, who is warming the bench following the signing of Yashin Trophy holder Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Trafford is Tuchel’s third-choice goalkeeper, so nobody is overly bothered by his inclusion. Nick Pope might be, depending on whether he’s bothered about sitting on the bench for two international matches when he could be chilling at home.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa trio Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers are in.

Rogers was brilliant in England’s win over Serbia last month, but his club form has been absolutely shocking.

Villa started the season terribly but have now won three games in a row in all competitions after beating Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday.

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Watkins ended a nine-game goal drought against Fulham on the weekend and is another Villa player in poor form this term.

A call-up for Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White also feels bizarre considering his form in 2025/26.

He registered an assist in Forest’s 3-2 home defeat to FC Midtjylland on Thursday, but he’s another England player not deserving of a call-up, if we’re basing the squad on current form.

Bukayo Saka returns to the England squad after recovering from injury, and he’s joined by Arsenal pals Declan Rice, Ebere Eze, and Lewis-Skelly.

Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson deservedly keeps his place and is joined by in-form Brentford man Jordan Henderson, who kind of merits his selection this time.

Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn are in. No controversy there for me, Clive.

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi and goalkeeper Dean Henderson deserve their place in Tuchel’s 23-man squad, while Jarrod Bowen gets in despite West Ham’s rubbish start to the season. Interestingly, there’s no Adam Wharton.

Chelsea captain Reece James and Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence are deserving, and this might be controversial, but so is Harry Kane.

There are four representatives from foreign clubs: Bayern Munich striker Kane, AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Barcelona forward Marcus Rashford (on loan from Manchester United), and Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah.

In terms of those not in the squad, Jack Grealish should and will feel very hard done by.

To be honest, we can’t quite believe Grealish isn’t in the squad, given his form on loan at Everton. He leads the Premier League for assists in 2025/26, registering four in six games.

Maybe Tuchel doesn’t fancy him, or doesn’t see Grealish as a realistic option when the World Cup comes around next summer.

There are also question marks over why Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been left out.

Foden did not make himself available for England over the summer due to personal reasons, but he’s back fit and flying for City. And in terms of actual ability, he’s one of the most talented players available to Tuchel.

Bellingham is potentially a big one. Tuchel sparked debate with some interesting words said about the Real Madrid star after the friendly defeat to Senegal in June: “Sometimes you see the rage, the hunger and the fire and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother when she sits in front of the TV.”

It just adds fuel to the fire, doesn’t it? Sure, he’s been injured for Madrid, but Bellingham is back and has featured in his club’s last four matches.

Taking Kane out of the conversation, it’s widely accepted that Bellingham is England’s best and most important player. It will be interesting to see how Tuchel spins this. For all we know, he’s been very generous to clubs and not called up players still getting up to scratch this campaign, like Bellingham and Foden.

To be honest, we’re pretty miffed by Tuchel’s squad, but it is clear he’s looking for continuity and didn’t want to make too many changes. There’s no excusing some of those call-ups and omissions, though…

Oh, and there’s not a single Liverpool or Manchester United player.

Full England squad:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford

Defenders: Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, John Stones

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers

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