Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and Manchester City’s James Trafford have been added to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
The Three Lions, who h**ave already qualified for next summer’s tournament**, have confirmed the news **following the withdrawal**of Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope through injury and concussion respectively.
It had also been reported that Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi had withdrawn, but England have released a statement confirming that the defender “has reported for international duty and will continue to be assessed in the coming days.”
Guehi missed Palace’s goalless draw with Brighton in the Premier League last weekend, as he has been dealing with a bone bruise in his foot and ‘can’t even walk’, according to head coach Oliver Glasner.
Tuchel has opted to bolster his backline options by calling up Chalobah, who made his first and only senior England appearance to date under the German coach in June when the Three Lions lost 3-1 in a friendly against Senegal.
In September, Tuchel admitted that Chalobah was unfortunate to be left out of his England squad for qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, and the defender was also omitted from the senior set-up in October.
Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah pictured on September 17, 2025
Chalobah, Trafford to join England training after call-ups confirmed
However, Chalobah is back in the fold this month having played regularly for Chelsea this term, featuring in all but four matches with the Blues who sit third in the Premier League table behind Man City and leaders Arsenal.
Tuchel has been a key figure in Chalobah's career having given him his senior Chelsea debut in 2021, and the 26-year-old could be in contention to feature in England’s upcoming clash with Serbia at Wembley Stadium on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Man City goalkeeper Trafford was initially left out of the England squad at the expense of Pope, but the 23-year-old has made an instant return and will provide competition for both Jordan Pickford and Dean Henderson between the sticks.
Tuchel’s decision to initially leave Trafford out was due to his lack of game time at Man City, where he is currently playing second fiddle to Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Trafford has not played in the Premier League since August, but the uncapped starlet is still regarded as one of England’s brightest young goalkeepers and he, along with Chalobah, has joined up with the Three Lions’ squad at Tottenham's training ground ahead of their first training session on Tuesday.
While Trafford is one of four Man City players in the England squad along with the returning Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly and John Stones, Chalobah is one of two Chelsea players to be called up along with Reece James.
Sitting top of Group K and merely playing for pride, England will follow up their clash against Serbia with a trip to Albania on Sunday, which represents their final World Cup qualifier and final international fixture of 2025.
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