Most of the negative reaction to the October squad announcement centered around the absence of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, but Tuchel can justify those decisions. Bellingham has only just returned to action at Real Madrid after recovering from shoulder surgery, and although Foden is back on track at Man City after a frustrating 2024-25 campaign, the 25-year-old is still not quite at the PFA Player of the Year level he was at 18 months ago and still needs more pushing, having yet to properly convince in an England shirt.
Grealish, though, is a different case. He registered four assists in his first five Premier League appearances for Everton, and also shone in their 1-1 draw with West Ham on September 29. The Toffees weren’t functioning at their best, but Grealish racked up four key passes, taking his overall tally for the season to 19 – the best in the division after six matches.
It should have been a given that he’d be one of the 24 men called up for England’s friendly against Wales and World Cup qualifying clash with Latvia. Tuchel had other ideas, but did at least insist the door is still open for Grealish ahead of next summer’s World Cup. "There is always a way back into the camp," the England boss said on Friday. "Jack knows that I see how influential he is for Everton and that he is on his way to be the best version of himself."
That would be fine if the big kick-off in North America wasn’t just eight months away. Tuchel is rapidly running out of time to nail down his best starting XI, and has now blown another chance to get a proper, close-up look at the unique skillset Grealish can bring England in a position that continues to be a major issue…
Most of the negative reaction to the October squad announcement centered around the absence of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, but Tuchel can justify those decisions. Bellingham has only just returned to action at Real Madrid after recovering from shoulder surgery, and although Foden is back on track at Man City after a frustrating 2024-25 campaign, the 25-year-old is still not quite at the PFA Player of the Year level he was at 18 months ago and still needs more pushing, having yet to properly convince in an England shirt.
Grealish, though, is a different case. He registered four assists in his first five Premier League appearances for Everton, and also shone in their 1-1 draw with West Ham on September 29. The Toffees weren’t functioning at their best, but Grealish racked up four key passes, taking his overall tally for the season to 19 – the best in the division after six matches.
It should have been a given that he’d be one of the 24 men called up for England’s friendly against Wales and World Cup qualifying clash with Latvia. Tuchel had other ideas, but did at least insist the door is still open for Grealish ahead of next summer’s World Cup. “There is always a way back into the camp,” the England boss said on Friday. “Jack knows that I see how influential he is for Everton and that he is on his way to be the best version of himself.”
That would be fine if the big kick-off in North America wasn’t just eight months away. Tuchel is rapidly running out of time to nail down his best starting XI, and has now blown another chance to get a proper, close-up look at the unique skillset Grealish can bring England in a position that continues to be a major issue…
To Grealish’s immense credit, he has not let the snub affect him. Everton’s new talisman produced another superb all-round display on Sunday as David Moyes’ side ended Crystal Palace’s 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
It looked like the spoils would be shared after Iliman Ndaiye converted a penalty to cancel out Daniel Munoz’s first-half opener. However, three minutes into stoppage time, Grealish popped up in the box to score a dramatic winner for the hosts, and celebrated with a euphoric knee slide in front of the Toffees faithful. It wasn’t the prettiest of goals, as Daniel Munoz’s attempted clearance gave Grealish the chance to easily deflect the ball into the net, but it was a just reward for the City loanee’s endeavour and guile throughout the game.
Grealish was also awarded the Player of the Match award – his third of the campaign already – and had more than enough fuel to send a strong message to Tuchel when speaking to the media. Instead, he showed his class by telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “You know what? I don’t think it’s as deep as everyone says. At the end of the day, you want to play for the national team but people are doing well in my position. I’m doing well also, but the people picked last month did really well in the two games so that’s fine with me. That’s the manager’s decision and I fully respect that.”
Grealish added: “I’m focused on playing for Everton because that’s who put their trust in me and believed in me, so I’m really enjoying it here.” The former Aston Villa man regressed at City because Pep Guardiola insisted that he rein in all of his instincts, but Moyes is allowing him to express himself freely again, and Everton are reaping the benefits, sitting eighth in the Premier League table and only five points behind leaders Arsenal.
It’s easy to imagine Grealish making the same impact for England if given the chance. Every top team needs players who can unlock teams that sit deep in a low block and consistently win free kicks in dangerous areas. Certainly, this version of Grealish could have offered the Three Lions those qualities at Euro 2024, where inspiration in the final third was sorely lacking.
“When you’re struggling a bit, you need your best players to get on the ball and be brave, and he is a top player and you can see the difference in the second half [against Palace]. He was strong, he was fit, he looks happy,” former England international Danny Murphy said in his role as a BBC pundit on Match of the Day. “He’s playing with a strut that we’ve seen him play with before, and what happens is, that’s infectious to those around him. Grealish playing at this level will catch the eye of the England manager at some point. I know he’s probably waiting to see if he can keep the levels up, but when he’s looking as strong as he is now and as brave as he is on the ball, then it’s pretty inevitable, really.”
Unfortunately, Murphy might be wrong with that last statement. Grealish should be an automatic inclusion if he continues on his current trajectory, but Tuchel already appears to have his favourites, those with the advantage of having already settled into the manager’s way of thinking after being called up for multiple camps.
Of the seven forwards Tuchel called up to the latest England squad, it could be argued that Harry Kane is the only rock-solid pick, with out-of-form Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins chosen as the Bayern Munich star’s deputy largely due to a shortage of quality No.9 options. Jarrod Bowen probably deserved it, having scored three goals already this season despite playing in a struggling West Ham team, while Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze, who are both starting to build up some rhythm, were never likely to be left out.
Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon made the cut again despite a very inconsistent start to the season at Newcastle. Gordon did put in a match-winning turn in the Champions League against Belgian outfit Union Saint-Gilloise last week, but it’s obvious Tuchel has stuck with him mainly because of his impressive performance against Serbia in England’s last World Cup qualifier. Marcus Rashford also looked sharp off the bench in that 5-0 victory, and has since reached eight goal contributions for the season at Barcelona.
Eze is also a fine left-winger, but can do more damage from the No.10 role, as England fans saw in the 2-0 win over Andorra last month. That means Grealish’s two main competitors for that wide berth are probably Gordon and Rashford, neither of whom can match him in the footballing IQ stakes.
Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer – who are both currently out injured – are also versatile enough to play on the left, but it’s not the best position for either of them. Grealish is England’s best option on that side, and if Tuchel doesn’t come to that realisation soon, the team will likely endure the same attacking struggles at the World Cup as they did at last year’s Euros.
Eze and Gordon were both selected for Euro 2024, but Sir Gareth Southgate only used them sparingly, and his pragmatic tactics prevented them from making any real difference at the tournament. Tuchel will be more expansive, but if Gordon and Rashford are the top two choices on the left, penetration against the defensive-minded sides could once again prove elusive.
Gordon still has much to prove at the highest level, and Rashford remains a streaky performer who could implode at any moment. The Manchester United loanee is playing with a spring in his step again at Barca, but the praise being lavished upon him has been a bit overblown considering he’s only scored once in his first eight La Liga appearances, and Hansi Flick’s side appear to have taken a backwards step as a collective since his arrival at the club.
It may be that Rashford rises to the challenge and lifts Barca back to their optimal level in the coming weeks, but history suggests he will buckle when the going gets tough. It would be a stupid risk for Tuchel to stick with the notoriously unreliable 27-year-old before at least testing Grealish’s credentials.
Tuchel need only look back at Grealish’s last outing in England colours to see how effective he can be. That came almost a year ago against Finland in the Nations League, as he scored the first goal in a 3-1 triumph, finishing calmly after making a genius run in behind to meet an Angel Gomes pass.
Operating on the left in a 4-2-3-1 system alongside Bellingham and Palmer, Grealish was the best player on the pitch, completing 56 of his 58 passes in a display interim boss Lee Carsley described as “outstanding”. At his best, Grealish is a supremely creative footballer who spots openings that others do not, and as Man City treble winner, one of the most experienced players at England’s disposal.
There is only one thing missing. Grealish’s goal against Finland was just his fourth in 39 international appearances for England. He also only found the net once in the Premier League for City last term, albeit from only seven starts.
Grealish always chipped in with his fair share of goals in his Villa days, but Guardiola didn’t want him to take any risks. Before Everton’s clash with Palace, Grealish had only recorded two shots from open play this term, which prompted Moyes to issue the winger a firm challenge.
“I do want him to shoot more and I want him to get into positions to score,” Moyes told reporters. “His assist numbers are good, that is for sure, and I want to get him on the scoresheet, getting in at the back post more. He has the ability to create space and get some shots away. He will risk a pass but I am not so sure he will risk it if he thinks someone will block it. Those are the bits where I am saying I would like him to get the radar on. His finishing is great as well, he has got a rocket [of a shot] and he can bend it in the far corner and he can do all of the things. So there is no reason for him not to take it on. He could take a bit more risk in his finishing.”
The Everton boss got the response he wanted as Grealish registered three shots on target against Palace. The goals will start flowing consistently if he can maintain that sort of output, and it would then be impossible for Tuchel to keep ignoring him.
Grealish has 248 days left to stake his claim for the job of England’s first-choice left winger at the World Cup, though he won’t be eligible to face parent club City in Everton’s first game back after the international break. Moyes will be able to call upon Grealish again for the visit of Tottenham on October 26, and another decisive showing would increase calls for him to return to the England fold for the November qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
But make no mistake, Grealish is facing an uphill battle, because Tuchel is liable to stick with what he believes to be working. “We reached a new level and new standards in the last camp,” the German tactician said last week. “It was clearly visible in the match against Serbia. Why not pick the same players and squad if they are available? They set the standard and now they have to make sure the standards become more stable. This is more about the last camp and what we started to build than the dependency on individual players.”
That essentially means that the standard of his competitors needs to dip if Grealish is to get a look-in. Players who have underperformed over the past month, such as Watkins, Morgan Gibbs-White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Morgan Rogers, did not retain their places on merit, which will surely come as a great source of frustration for the likes of Grealish, Adam Wharton and Foden.
Now is the time when Tuchel should be experimenting, because the closer the tournament gets, it will be harder for him to upset the established order. Knocking on the door won’t be enough for Grealish, he’s got to smash it off its hinges in the coming weeks. England’s World Cup hopes might just depend on it.
