The Thomas Tuchel era at England finally gets underway with the Three Lions' World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Albania on Friday night, but three players will unfortunately miss out as they've been cut from the squad right before the game. The former Chelsea manager was hired to replace Gareth Southgate in late 2024 and his appointment was met with excitement.
Having lifted the Champions League trophy with the Blues, as well as multiple league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, he is considered a serial winner and the sort of manager that could take England to the next level after the Three Lions reached back to back European Championship finals.
While he was hired in 2024, Tuchel wouldn't take charge of the nation officially until 2025 and the international break will give fans a chance to see England play under him for the first time in games against Albania and Latvia. There was some skepticism following the announcement of his first squad, though. Fans were perplexed by some of the inclusions and now three of the players involved have been cut.
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Thomas Tuchel Names England Squad for Albania and Latvia Internationals
Thomas Tuchel has named his first England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Tuchel Cuts Morgan Gibbs-White
He also dropped Aaron Ramsdale and Jarell Quansah
Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of a Nottingham Forest game
One major issue that fans had with Tuchel's first England squad was the lack of Nottingham Forest players considering their incredible season in the Premier League. Forest are currently on course for Champions League football and several English players have been stand-out performers for them this campaign. Initially, there were no players from Nuno Espirito Santo's side included, but eventually, Morgan Gibbs-White was called up.
That didn't last long, though, and he's now been cut from the team just hours before they face Albania. Tuchel has dropped two more players as well. Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and Liverpool youngster Jarell Quansah have both also been cut from the squad. The news was first reported by the BBC, who shared the final 23-man squad for the team who will face Albania and the three stars were all left off.
Gibbs-White was initially only brought into the England side as a late replacement for Cole Palmer. The Chelsea man has had fitness issues recently, so the call was made to replace him with the 25-year-old, but his inclusion didn't last long. Instead, England's midfield will consist of Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Curtis Jones, Declan Rice and Morgan Rogers.