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Five Newcastle players in England squad - with surprise call for former Boro keeper

And in a surprise move, the England boss has also named former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Jason Steele in his long list of players contending for a place at this summer's World Cup finals.

Tuchel has selected 35 players in his squad for England's Wembley matches against Uruguay and Japan, with that group set to be whittled down to make up the final squad for the World Cup.

The FA must submit a provisional list to FIFA of between 35 and 55 players, with the final squad comprising between 23 and 26 players, of which at least three must be goalkeepers.

Newcastle's Aaron Ramsdale is one of the goalkeepers included in the squad for the forthcoming friendlies, but there is no place for his Magpies team-mate Nick Pope, who appears to have dropped out of the World Cup reckoning after losing his place in Eddie Howe's starting side.

Steele's selection as one of five goalkeepers along with Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford and Ramsdale is a surprise, although the FA have indicated that his presence in the squad is because he is being lined up to be England's 'training goalkeeper' during the summer. Tom Heaton filled the same role with the national team at Euro 2024.

Newton Aycliffe-born Steele started his career with Middlesbrough, making 142 senior appearances for the club between 2007 and 2015.

The 35-year-old had an unsuccessful spell at Sunderland in the 2017-18 season, but has proved a valuable squad player at Brighton since moving to the Amex Stadium in 2018. He has not made a single Premier League appearance for Brighton this season, yet has still been named in Tuchel's squad.

Three Newcastle defenders are selected - Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall - with Anthony Gordon also chosen as one of the forward options.

There is no place for Harvey Barnes, who had been touted as a possible outsider for a World Cup place.

Other notable names in Tuchel's squad selection are Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo, who return to the fold after a good run with Manchester United, uncapped Everton midfielder James Garner and Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

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