Spurs forward Mikey Moore, England's Jobe Bellingham and Ethan Nwaneri of Borussia Dortmund
Some uncapped England players have a better chance of changing that than others
Fifty-two uncapped stars eligible for England have started a league game in Europe’s top five divisions this season; Thomas Tuchel is watching.
And we mean ‘stars’ – household names from your Hulls, your Coventrys and the Monzas of this world.
Each of the below have started at least one game in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue Un, can play for England but are as yet uncapped.
Some will remain as such; a fair few could entirely conceivably barge their way in.
52) Christian Walton (Ipswich) Jason Steele has selfishly fenced off the honorary statesman training goalkeeper role for the foreseeable, which doesn’t half restrict the opportunities on offer to a 30-year-old who couldn’t keep a Carabao Cup second-round clean sheet against Leicester’s B team.
51) Luke O’Nien (Sunderland) Since being substituted on a yellow in the 67th minute of a defeat to Ipswich on the opening weekend, O’Nien’s Premier League existence has been limited exclusively to the bench.
50) Ellis Simms (Coventry) For as long as his last and only Premier League goal remains one set up by Abdoulaye Doucoure and scored past Kepa Arrizabalaga to cancel out a Kai Havertz penalty in a game between Graham Potter’s Chelsea and Sean Dyche’s Everton, Simms probably needn’t worry about his England prospects.
49) Matt Crooks (Hull) Three bookings in as many Premier League appearances is wonderful work, but perhaps not international scene-adjacent because woke.
48) Omari Forson (Monza) No closer now under the unfathomably employed Ivan Juric than he was when feeding off scraps thrown by Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
47) Jay Robinson (Monza) A Southampton loanee who accounts for the entire goal haul of the 13 Englishmen in Serie A this season (one) has a few cabs ahead of him on the rank.
46) Dwight McNeil (Crystal Palace) No Premier League assist since December 2025; no Premier League goal since the previous May.
45) Jacob Murphy (Newcastle) The ship was floating perilously close to international recognition around the time Murphy said, “I hope England are casting an eye on what I’m doing, because I feel my game would be appreciated in the setup,” when he was named on a squad longlist in summer 2025, but it has long since sailed.
44) Adam Smith (Bournemouth) Will still be Bournemouth’s right-back when the apocalypse finally subsides and Manchester City contracts are used as currency two millennia from now, but Smith will still and always be only Bournemouth’s right-back.
43) Matt Grimes (Coventry) Matt Grimes, or Grimey as he likes to be called, taught us that a man can captain Coventry through all five of their Premier League return games, missing a mere six minutes in all, without coming close to representing England for the first time since his U21s stint in 2016.
42) Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (Strasbourg) There is a place for Spurs academy alumnus and former Southampton forward Amo-Ameyaw in a form-based, boffin-selected England squad, but not an actual one.
41) Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Genoa/Hull) While he is yet to start a game for new club Hull, the versatile Norton-Cuffy was a Genoa regular to the bitter Serie A end and did have an elite schooling at Chelsea, Arsenal and various England age groups.
40) Jonathan Rowe (Bologna/Atalanta)
There was reported interest from Manchester United but it was Atalanta who secured Rowe on a season-long loan with options and obligations to make it permanent. The scorer of the winning goal for England in the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship has work to do to break into a stacked attack.
39) Stephen Mfuni (Coventry) “High talent level, versatile in different areas at the back-end, really, really good profile, very impressive in demeanour and how he’s come in,” according to Frank Lampard. And the centre-half has a 100% win and clean sheet rate in the Premier League, having debuted in the win over Nottingham Forest.
38) CJ Egan-Riley (Marseille) Quite wise to become a budget version of Vincent Kompany by converting Premier League failure with Burnley into more alluring opportunities overseas. But while Egan-Riley was playing in the Champions League last season, he is in a relegation scrap with Marseille this.
37) Keinan Davis (Udinese)
Should have been picked for the World Cup.
36) Lewie Coyle (Hull) In another England management era, a 30-year-old right-back and captain of a current top-half side would have been sat at the front of the team bus next to Jake Livermore. Coyle can only dream of that alternate, Southgated reality.
35) Mikey Moore (Spurs/Koln) There is no real need to push 19-year-old Moore through yet as he embarks on his latest campaign as a bona fide regular. It might help him to return from one of these loans to a settled, at least vaguely competent Spurs.
34) Jack Clarke (Ipswich) Does have more Premier League goals this season than Bradley Barcola, Savio and Omar Marmoush combined, but has started and finished the same game just once in 36 top-flight career attempts.
33) Jacob Greaves (Ipswich) As a Premier League regular centre-half at a time of relative uncertainty in the England backline, Greaves has as good a chance as ever of breaking in at some point. But he was also dropped for Ipswich’s last game after being tormented by Alexander Isak.
32) Ryan Giles (Hull) Sergej Jakirovic felt compelled to step in and rescue Giles from what would have been a disastrous move to Burnley in the summer. Hull have been rewarded with some excellent performances from the former England U20sman, but he is somewhere in the middle of the left-back queue, probably behind a load of repurposed teenage midfielders.
31) Hayden Hackney (Everton) And on Hackney marches, having played in every Premier League game this season for unbeaten Everton. But the last four of those appearances have been as a substitute as the new signing completes his crash course in Moyesification.
30) Jack Rudoni (Coventry) A fine player and key figure through Coventry’s rise, but the closest Rudoni has come to full international honours was a passport-based misunderstanding when trying to get clearance to play for the States at the 2024 Olympics.
29) Regan Slater (Hull) A challenger to Seamus Coleman’s status as the greatest five-figure player in Premier League history, but perhaps not of England calibre just yet.
28) Tyrhys Dolan (Espanyol) Reached half his La Liga goal tally from last season on the opening weekend of this season with a single strike in Espanyol’s win over Levante, but arguably needs to do a little more to encroach on England’s free-flowing attack.
27) Jayden Bogle (Leeds) If England ever switch to three-at-the-back, Bogle should be one of the first names on the pictures of team sheets diligently posted on socials by up to five earnest journalists.
26) Joe Willock (Newcastle)
Montserrat are waiting to swoop if England decide not to.
25) Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (Koln) Between being entirely deep-ended by Pep Guardiola during Manchester City’s nightmare 2024/25 run, then shunted off to Celtic for a one-game loan spell, Simpson-Pusey might appreciate just being settled in Germany for now.
24) James McAtee (Nottingham Forest) An excellent player with Etihad learnings and an absurd amount of England U21 experience. But Tuchel doesn’t pick the actual Adam Wharton, so might well overlook his regen.
23) Cameron Archer (Auxerre)
Having managed to extricate himself from the spiral of perennial low-scoring Premier League relegations with doomed teams in red-and-white stripes, former Sheffield United and Southampton forward Archer has scored in each of his first three Auxerre appearances under Will Still and might be well-advised to continue in that vein.
22) Lloyd Kelly (Juventus) Always fun to remember where he is.
21) George Hemmings (Aston Villa) Not especially close to England selection, but a few more months of Unai Emery seasoning with Champions League experience sprinkled in while keeping Alejandro Garnacho out could change that.
20) Ethan Nwaneri (Borussia Dortmund) Another who might simply value consistent minutes at club level above all else – and likely more than the 55 to 65 Nwaneri is living off at Dortmund currently. He should get there, but not yet.
19) Bobby Thomas (Coventry) A distinct lack of any England education could hold Thomas back but there should also always be ample room for 6ft 4ins Premier League centre-halves in a squad.
18) Charlie Cresswell (Rennes) Not many players have more England U21 caps, with Cresswell carving out a prosperous career in Ligue Un too. But it does feel like that could lead to him being Tomori’d.
17) Jaidon Anthony (Brentford) Eight goals for Burnley in his first season as a Premier League starter has thus far translated to one in Brentford’s battering of Chelsea. When Anthony has played in the Champions League for the Bees by this time next year he’ll be on the cusp.
16) Tyler Morton (Lyon)
One of England’s best exports, Morton continues to thrive after backing himself away from Liverpool.
15) Ayden Heaven (Manchester United) The Manchester United factor will always weigh heavily in an England manager’s favour; playing only twice this season and those games being a 2-0 defeat at Hull and 3-2 loss to Brighton, less so.
14) Harrison Armstrong (Everton) The Elliot Anderson speedrun from academy-based pure profit sacrifice to the elite via a couple of seasons at Nottingham Forest was fated at one point for Armstrong until Everton realised they needed at least a couple of players. He’s started every Premier League game since for the invincible Toffees.
13) James Hill (Bournemouth)
It seemed far likelier at one stage under Andoni Iraola last season, but even then Hill jumping the centre-half line felt improbable. He won’t be catching the eye for Marco Rose’s winless Cherries.
12) Carl Rushworth (Coventry) A nailed-on call-up within the next couple of years, but James Trafford had to sacrifice 427 farmyard animals just for the honour of having Marc Guehi ruin his big day; those back-up keeper minutes are not as easy to come by.
11) Josh Acheampong (Chelsea) There are plenty of factors weighing in Acheampong’s favour: his age, his versatility, his England youth background. But playing any part in this Chelsea defence is tainting.
10) Lewis Miley (Newcastle)
It must be a matter of time for Miledini.
9) Archie Gray (Spurs) Might be worth waiting until he doesn’t finish a Premier League season in 17th, having played in 25 different positions.
8) Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth) A very good player in fine Premier League form, but equally one destined to forever be held up by his own club’s fans as proof that England overlook players at certain clubs.
7) Leif Davis (Ipswich) A very good player in fine Premier League form, but equally when Lewis Hall withdrew from the squad against Czechia, his left-back replacement was right-back Rico Lewis, who hasn’t played for England in almost two years.
6) Josh King (Fulham) Very much in and/or around the England picture as part of their World Cup preparations, with King only taking on a more prominent and responsible role with Fulham since.
5) Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) If he has a mere fraction of his brother’s ability and mentality, Bellingham Jr. will obviously be a phenomenal asset to England for years to comedivisive soloist and angry young man.
4) Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford) It’s quite curious how Lewis-Potter has accompanied Brentford on their journey to becoming European hopefuls without ever really being mentioned in England conversations. Few players are as important to the Bees yet overlooked.
3) Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton) “I know I’m the closest I have ever been now. You get a message two weeks before the squad is announced. I got one for the long list for the World Cup and I’ve had one for these next games,” said Dewsbury-Hall last month, adding: “It’s got to be me that forces his hand to choose me. It’s not going to be given to me.”
2) Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton) Perhaps only a dreadfully timed injury has kept Hinshelwood out of the Three Lions picture, considering his sole Premier League appearance of the season so far returned two goals in an hour from yet another new position. If he can nail one of those down in this brilliant Brighton side, it is only a matter of time.
1) Liam Delap (Nottingham Forest) Dominic Calvert-Lewin knows the honour of granting Harry Kane a five-minute breather every other game is not permanent and must be earned; a few more goals and Delap will be back in the frame.