WITH the announcement of England’s squad for their November internationals comes the usual backlash from fans.
Whether it’s in-form club stars being left out of the selection or ageing international mainstays still being given the nod, there has been no shortage of questions asked of Thomas Tuchel about Friday’s choices.
Among the noise from fans, seven decisions have received the most scrutiny, as England look to coast through their remaining World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania – having already confirmed their spot at the tournament last month.
Here are seven question marks that have arisen from Friday’s England squad announcement…
Jack Grealish:
The forgotten man at Manchester City has found a new lease of life since making the loan switch to David Moyes’ Everton in the summer.
The former Aston Villa star has produced four assists already this season, the joint-most in the Premier League, as well as scoring one goal.
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His creativity rarely shone under Pep Guardiola but it seems to be back now, which is why many fans were shocked not to see him included in the England squad announcement.
Attacking threats like Eberechi Eze and Phil Foden were always likely to feature, but some might feel frustrated by the inclusion of misfiring Anthony Gordon over the 30-year-old.
Ollie Watkins:
One surprising feature of Tuchel’s squad is the lack of natural centre-forwards (barring the unstoppable Harry Kane) including the omission of de facto second-choice striker Ollie Watkins.
The Villa star has not been on top form this season, but neither have any of England‘s options in the No9 role, with Chelsea‘s Liam Delap having spent the last few months injured and estranged backup Ivan Toney continuing to play outside of Europe‘s top competitions.
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Kane therefore stands as the only out and out striker in the squad, leaving questions as to who will step in when the captain inevitably needs a rest.
Marcus Rashford and Jarrod Bowen both have experience playing through the middle when called upon, and Eddie Howe briefly trialled Gordon there for Newcastle earlier this season, but the decision to use them seems a missed opportunity to start to bed in an up and coming forward option.
Cole Palmer:
Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer won’t feel aggrieved at not being included in Tuchel’s squad considering he has been on the sidelines since late September with a groin injury.
But the attacker will surely be frustrated about having missed out on the internationals so narrowly, with Blues boss Enzo Maresca hopeful that he will be able to return to the pitch at Stamford Bridge before the end of the month.
Palmer has been something of a puzzle for England managers, with his incredible record in the last two seasons warranting a place in almost any starting line-up – if it weren’t for him being in direct competition with Euros hero Jude Bellingham for the spot.
If anything, the 23-year-old’s absence has made things simpler for Tuchel this time around, but questions will inevitably be asked of him once again when Palmer is back to full fitness.
Myles Lewis-Skelly:
Arsenal starlet Myles Lewis-Skelly, 19, has experienced a bit of a come-down of late after bursting onto the scene with the club in the back half of last season.
With Riccardo Calafiori‘s shift out wide to become Mikel Arteta‘s preferred left-back option, as well as the summer transfer of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen, the youngster has been relegated to a cup player who makes brief cameos in the league.
He has been leapfrogged at left-back for England by City‘s Nico O’Reilly, 20, who received his first call up in Friday’s squad announcement.
O’Reilly has been a starter for most of City’s league games this season and rightly deserves his spot, but Gunners fans might be sad to see Lewis-Skelly left out as a backup option in favour of out-of-position Djed Spence, or Dan Burn, who has had an unremarkable season with Newcastle so far and is hardly the future of the England squad.
James Trafford:
Burnley fans were sad to see James Trafford go over the summer as the wiry keeper shunned the chance to star in the Premier League at Turf Moor in order to join City.
On paper it was a good move for the keeper, 23, as long-time stopper Ederson‘s departure left the club in need of a new No1 – but that is not how things have shaken out.
Guardiola brought in Gianluigi Donnarumma before the window’s close after some fairly uninspiring performances from Trafford in his three starts at the beginning of the season.
But it is hard to forget the talent that the young stopper has and, seeing as it is unlikely that a third choice keeper will see much action anyway, some have argued that bringing an option for the future to bed into the England setup would be more productive than taking hot-and-cold Nick Pope, 33.
Danny Welbeck:
Another striker snubbed by Tuchel was Danny Welbeck, the former United and Arsenal star who has suddenly rolled back the years this campaign for Brighton.
His six goals from 10 appearances is good enough to make him the joint-second highest scorer in the Prem this season… just narrowly behind the half-man half-robot Erling Haaland‘s ridiculous 13.
Welbeck’s argument for inclusion is not purely based on fan nostalgia, and is made all the stronger by the stark lack of depth at striker in the squad.
It’s been seven years since Welbeck’s last appearance for the Three Lions, but it seems he will have to wait a bit longer and keep putting up his impressive numbers if he wants to add to his 42 career caps.
Jordan Henderson:
The only individual on this list sparking controversy for being in the squad rather than out, Jordan Henderson has become a symbol for competing ideas around international squad selection, especially for what essentially boils down to two near-friendlies.
The 35-year-old has been a contentious inclusion since he left England for Saudi Arabia in 2023.
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The argument tended to be that he provided crucial leadership experience in what is otherwise a young England midfield, but his solid performances for Brentford this season have finally handed him a leg to stand on performance wise.
Once again it comes back to the argument that these internationals are a great chance to hand opportunities to England’s future stars, but with the inclusion of Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson and a debut spot for Bournemouth‘s Alex Scott, fans can let this one slide.
