Everton starlet Tyler Dibling is in need of minutes to kickstart his Everton career after a slow opening to his Toffees move.
There was a telling picture in terms of Tyler Dibling’s future with Lee Carsley’s England under-21 side on Tuesday evening, as they steamrolled Slovakia 4-0 to continue their perfect start to the European Championship 2027 qualifying group.
Dibling has largely been limited to substitute appearances at Everton under David Moyes this season, starting just once in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
And he failed to get on the pitch in England’s thrashing in Presov, which seems to say a lot about his future chances in the squad.
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Tyler Dibling was an unused substitute in England U21’s win over Slovakia
Everton starlet Tyler Dibling only picked up 15 minutes of game time on Friday evening against the Republic of Ireland, and failed to make an impression for the Young Lions.
However, Tuesday night’s showing against Slovakia was even worse for the former Southampton star as he was an unused substitute in Eastern Europe.
Tyrique George was preferred ahead of him, and with England racing into a 2-0 lead on the hour mark, you could’ve been expecting that former Toffees midfielder Lee Carsley would’ve sent the youngster on.
But Dibling remained on the bench, with fellow substitutes Lewis Miley, Joshua King, Ashley Phillips, Lewis Hall and Kellen Fisher all being selected ahead of him.
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It marks a disappointing international break for Dibling, with just five touches through the entire break, and that lack of game time will translate into his performances on Merseyside.
The upside is that Iliman Ndiaye will be off to the Africa Cup of Nations in a month’s time, and so Dibling will be given game time on the right-hand side.
But Everton will need him to pick up minutes and if he isn’t doing so at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, England’s youth teams would be his best chance.
Tyler Dibling may struggle to pick up any more minutes for England’s youth sides
At 19 years of age, Dibling has only just come into the under-19 squad, and after picking up 30 caps for the age groups ranging from under-16 to under-19, there should be a few caps in store for him.
However, Tyrique George started on the right-wing ahead of him, Jamie Gittens was on the left flank and even Ethan Nwaneri – who has played on the right for Arsenal – wasn’t used in the attacking midfield slot.
To further that, Joshua King was brought on for Nwaneri and scored, meaning there could even be scope for Nwaneri to move over to the right and use King centrally.
George is also 19 and just two weeks older than Dibling, while King and Nwaneri are both 18.
With Max Dowman also rising quickly through the ranks, having also featured for England’s under-19 side at the age of just 15, right-wing opportunities may be in high demand.
Dibling failing to come on could signal a real lack of chances for him on a national team level and by not playing for Everton, that could massively limit his chances for a senior squad call-up unless he starts firing consistently for the Toffees.