Current Chelsea trio Reece James, Levi Colwill, and Cole Palmer are in Thomas Tuchel’s first selection as the head of coach of the England national team, with former Blues Marc Guéhi, Dominic Solanke, and Tino Livramento (and Declan Rice) also part of the 26-player squad selected by our former manager.
Colwill and Palmer have been regulars of late, but this is James’ first selection in nearly two years. In fact, he’s not played a big role in the national team since the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, which, we might recall, he missed through injury. Tuchel was still Chelsea boss at the time; he’s surely more keenly aware than most of Reecey’s injury troubles.
> “Reecey worked very hard to be in shape. \[He\] does not play so regularly lately, but it is due to the managing of his previous injury history. He’s fully available; we double-checked and triple-checked with him personally and with the club and the medical department.
>
> “There is no doubt about Reecey’s quality and capability, what he can bring to us. We want to be flexible and have a bit of a wider range and that’s why it was a pleasure to bring Reece back in.”
>
> \-Thomas Tuchel; source: [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kDBQGoeRR8)
England will play Albania next Friday, then Latvia the Monday after in a pair of 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The squad in full, including first-timers Dan Burn (!) and Myles Lewis-Skelly, is as follows:
> GOALKEEPERS: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton), James Trafford (Burnley)
>
> DEFENDERS: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), **LEVI COLWILL** (Chelsea), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), **REECE JAMES** (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (AC Milan)
>
> MIDFIELDERS: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), **COLE PALMER** (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
>
> FORWARDS: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur)
Here’s Tactics Tommy himself, in case you miss listening to him talk football and calling Reece James, “Reecey”. Awww...