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Morgan Gibbs-White has been left out of the England squad yet again - but why, and whose place should he take?
Given that Thomas Tuchel’s selections for the World Cup raised plenty of eyebrows and turned many of the heads they were attached to, the squad he’s named for England’s first four Nations League matches is mostly surprising in terms of just how unsurprising it is. There was little fodder for pub arguments and radio phone-in shows – save, perhaps, for the continued exclusion of Morgan Gibbs-White.
Nottingham Forest’s best player has started the new season in fine form, scoring a crucial goal against Liverpool and providing a couple of assists in his four games to date. If ever there was a time for a recall, it seemed to be now.
Tuchel said on Friday that Gibbs-White had been “close” to a call-up, but he clearly wasn’t close enough. So why has Gibbs-White not been given a second chance to impress Tuchel, when players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer have?
Why isn’t Morgan Gibbs-White in the England squad?
Morgan Gibbs-White was a surprising omission from Thomas Tuchel's latest England squadplaceholder image
Morgan Gibbs-White was a surprising omission from Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad | Getty Images
Gibbs-White’s exclusion isn’t entirely lacking in historical precedent. He’s been named in four of Tuchel’s squads since he took charge at the start of 2025 but has only earned four caps in that time, all as a late substitute, and hasn’t been called up since October.
For whatever reason, Tuchel doesn’t seem to have developed an especially high of an opinion of Gibbs-White. The same was true, however, of Alexander-Arnold, whose defensive work has been explicitly criticised by the England manager in the past – but the Real Madrid right-back has still been given another chance with Reece James seemingly rested. One might have expected the opportunity to be extended to Gibbs-White given his form.
Alexander-Arnold isn’t the only player in the second chance saloon, either. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is getting another go. Lewis Hall and Myles Lewis-Skelly are being given a fresh look. Injuries have informed some of the decisions – Ben White and Djed Spence might have taken Alexander-Arnold’s place were they fit, for example – but there’s a subtheme of olive branches being extended to players who were previously discarded. Just not to Gibbs-White.
It doesn’t help that the 26-year-old is competing for a place in a position England have plenty of options for. Jude Bellingham has a firm grip on the number 10 role, Morgan Rogers has generally played well when given the nod, Tuchel seems to appreciate Eberechi Eze’s directness and versatility, and Cole Palmer has rediscovered some of his lost form after a summer of sorely-needed rest.
Tuchel’s own explanation for his decision to omit Gibbs-White was as simple as the fact that there was only room in the squad for so many attacking midfielders. The Nottingham Forest man can play on the wings in a pinch as well, but that’s true of Rogers, Palmer and Eze too. Perhaps Gibbs-White is the next man up, but it’s hard to work out what more he needs to do.
The obvious debate is whether Gibbs-White should be in the side ahead of Eze. It’s difficult to put together a strong argument against Bellingham, Rogers and Palmer making the squad – all are at least as good as Gibbs-White and in fine fettle themselves – but Eze is struggling to make it into the Arsenal side.
Should Gibbs-White be called up ahead of Eze?
Gibbs-White has six caps for England but is yet to start for the Three Lionsplaceholder image
Gibbs-White has six caps for England but is yet to start for the Three Lions | Getty Images
Eze has only started two games for Arsenal this season, neither of which came in the Premier League, hasn’t played a full 90 minutes, and has been pushed down the pecking order by new signing Christos Tzolis. He has just one attacking return to his name – an assist in the EFL Cup win against Ipswich Town, and played only a supporting role at the World Cup.
Eze’s ability to play as a 10 or on the left is helpful, but both Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford are expected to be ahead of him down the flank – and it’s difficult to say that he’s earned a place ahead of Gibbs-White on form.
That isn’t true purely in terms of raw production (although Gibbs-White comfortably outscored Eze last season) but in terms of the underlying numbers too. Gibbs-White is completing more passes and dribbles, creating more chances in terms of both volume and quality, taking far more shots and winning the ball back more than twice as frequently.
There is, in short, not a single area in which Eze is outperforming Gibbs-White at this point in time, which suggests that the reason that Eze is being selected is less to do with performance than it is to do with Tuchel’s tactical preferences or his impression of the two players based on their work in training to date.
If Gibbs-White has, in some way, frustrated Tuchel during their course of their work together to date, then it’s not been made public, and Gibbs-White can at least take heart from the fact that Alexander-Arnold came back from it to get another go.
But it must be somewhat demoralising for Gibbs-White to find himself on the outside looking in yet again. Tuchel made a point of saying on Friday that the “door is always open” to players who miss out on his squads. That’s some comfort, perhaps, although it’s probably a little cold as comfort goes.
For now, the exact thought process which led to Tuchel’s decision to pass over Gibbs-White yet again in favour of players who seem to be on less impressive form remains a mystery. All Gibbs-White can do is keep plugging away, keep scoring, keep creating. He may never be a regular with the talent ahead of him – but he’s surely earned the right to show us what he can do for 90 minutes in an England shirt. More than two years since his debut, it’s an opportunity that still hasn’t been afforded him.