Aston Villa pair called up for England but Thomas Tuchel drops struggling striker for World Cup qualifiers
England manager Thomas Tuchel has named his squad for the upcoming World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Serbia and Albania.
Aston Villa duo Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers have been included again but there’s no place for striker Ollie Watkins as his tough season continues.
The Three Lions take on Serbia at Wembley on Thursday 13th November and Albania in Tirana on Sunday 16th November. England have already qualified for the World Cup as Group K winners without conceding a goal in their six wins.
There’s a first call-up for Alex Scott of AFC Bournemouth and a first since Tuchel‘s appointment for Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.
Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been recalled but there’s no place for Brighton & Hove Albion striker Danny Welbeck, who had been tipped for a possible return at the age of 34 thanks to six Premier League goals in the first ten games of the season.
Villa’s England internationals
Konsa, who captained Villa for the first time under Unai Emery in Thursday’s Europa League win and represented England at Under-20 and Under-21 levels, is establishing himself as a legitimate contender to start for England at the World Cup.
The 28-year-old has made 14 international appearances since making his senior debut before EURO 2024. He scored in the reverse fixture against Serbia.
Rogers played for England at every age-group level before making his senior debut a year ago. He now has nine caps for the Three Lions and is also off the mark, scoring his maiden international goal in last month’s friendly against Wales.
Ross Barkley, Tyrone Mings and Jadon Sancho are also full internationals for England. Harvey Elliott captained the Under-21 team to victory in the European Championship in Slovakia in the summer but the 22-year-old is yet to win a senior England cap.
The latest England squad in full
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
The post Aston Villa pair called up for England but Thomas Tuchel drops struggling striker for World Cup qualifiers appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.