England have added four young stars to their pre-World Cup training camp squad to aid with their preparation with Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri and Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott among them
Thomas Tuchel's England squad had divided opinion
Thomas Tuchel's England squad had divided opinion(Image: Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
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England have called up Ethan Nwaneri and three other young talents to their pre-World Cup training camp squad which will prepare in Florida as they ready for their tournament opener.
The German only named his 26-man squad, which featured several surprise inclusions and some controversial omissions, on Friday, but has since added to it to bulk out the training camp.
Nwaneri chose to leave Arsenal in January with his minutes extremely limited and made a loan switch to Marseille. The winger was part of the U21 side that claimed Euros glory this time last summer.
Fulham’s Josh King and Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha are also included as is Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott. He was seen as having an outside chance to make the 26-man squad and Tuchel admits he was in contention.
The England boss said: “We will take some young players out who will train with us in the size of the squad that we need, and we have the two friendly matches to take care of the minutes and the load on the players.
“I’m happy to have these players, especially Alex who was on the [long] list of 55 [players for the 26-man World Cup squad] and obviously he didn’t make the first cut but the reaction of him was outstanding and the commitment and wish to be in pre-camp and a step closer to the team was not even a question for him."
The Three Lions will face New Zealand at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on June 6 before taking on Costa Rica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando on June 10. Seven days later their World Cup officially begins against Croatia, who knocked them out of the semi-finals eight years ago.
Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri joined Marseille in January in search of more minutes
Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri joined Marseille in January in search of more minutes(Image: Franco Arland/Getty Images)
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Games against Ghana and Panama will round off their group campaign with England expected to finish top as they bid to finally end their wait for tournament glory, having lost in two finals since 2021.
Tuchel has opted to leave Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home. He chose to select the likes of Ivan Toney, Djed Spence and Dan Burn, who were by no means certainties to be included, but the German has sought to justify his decisions.
He said: "I think from day one we were very clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect the 26 most talented players. Teams win championships, it is as simple as that."
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