Tuchel has announced his 24-man squad for the the international break, featuring a friendly against Wales at Wembley on October 9th and a World Cup qualifier in Latvia on October 14th. Tuchel has explained he wanted to keep the same group that performed strongly in September’s 5-0 win over Serbia. Bukayo Saka, who was injured last month, returns to the squad, along with John Stones. Jarell Quansah, a late call-up in September, retains his place. Injured players Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento are unavailable. England can secure World Cup qualification in this window, but will need results elsewhere to go their way.
After undergoing shoulder surgery in July, Bellingham missed the start of the LaLiga season. Since returning on September 20th, he has primarily been substituted in rather than starting matches and while he’s yet to score or assist in his three appearances, he has contributed to Real’s strong start to the season, where they sit second in LaLiga with six wins from seven games. Grealish joined Everton on a season-long loan from Man City at the start of the season, seeking to breathe life back into his career and secure regular playing time. And he has quickly made a significant impact, becoming a key player under boss David Moyes where he has played six games and contributed four assists.And Foden is another who is in good form, but misses out. After missing the start of the season due to illness and an ankle injury sustained in the Club World Cup, Foden has returned to the Man City line-up and has been making a significant impact – particularly in the Manchester derby.
There was a flood of reaction to the squad announcement, including from @FPLPriceChanges, who said: ‘Thomas Tuchel should be arrested for picking Jordan Henderson over Adam Wharton.’
@JamesGillComedy was absolutely fuming over the decision to leave out Wharton, he added: ‘No Adam Wharton should be enough to put Tuchel in the Tower Of London. This dude is Diet Sven. He’s Capello Lite. He’s 0% McClaren. Wharton in sensational form for Quadruple-chasing Crystal Palace. Sacrilege. Yet Jordan Henderson is in. Atrocious.’
@MerseyMCooleys questioned the decision to include Henderson, saying: ‘A Jordan Henderson call up thats…………deserved?’ Alongside a meme of Ian Wright scratching his head.
The absence of Grealish caused most concern for @GhanaYesu_, who said: ‘No Wharton but Jordan Henderson is in. Grealish having great season but no call up? How does this make sense?’
And @Bruce Millington said: ‘You have to wonder how someone whose job is to watch English footballers and pick the best ones can possibly not select Wharton and Grealish.’
The news comes just a couple of days after Bellingham was voted England’s Men’s Player of the Year for the 24/25 season by supporters, beating Declan Rice and Harry Kane to the prize. Bellingham’s performances during the campaign were key for England, including securing promotion in the Nations League and making strong progress in their World Cup qualifying campaign under Tuchel.
Bellingham’s individual highlights include scoring against Greece in the Nations League in October 2024 and delivering a Player of the Match performance in the 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland last November. He also contributed assists, including one against Albania during World Cup qualifying in March 2025 and two more against Ireland in the Nations League. This is the first time Bellingham has won the award.
