Bellingham and Foden earn England recalls as Wharton and Scott also picked

Thomas Tuchel has recalled Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden for England’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania. The attacking duo were left out of last month’s squad but have been handed opportunities to work their way back into Tuchel’s plans.
The situation with Real Madrid’s Bellingham has dominated the buildup to Friday’s announcement and there has also been intrigue around Foden, who has struggled with form and fitness since Euro 2024. But Foden excelled during Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and has done enough to earn his first call-up since March.
“First of all we are delighted they are back,” said Tuchel. “The contribution to their clubs lately was immense. They play regularly and a big part for City and Real. We are delighted they are in shape and in form.
“Jude comes back as a No 10. That is his best position. One of his key strengths is to score from this position. Phil, where he played lately for City was where I see him the strongest. He is close to the opponents box. The main thing with Phil is he gets a role in the central part of the pitch. I don’t see him as a winger. He will contribute as a 9-and-a-half, a 10-and-a-half. Very fluid.”
Asked about how Bellingham reacted to being left out England’s previous squad, Tuchel said: “ He accepted the decision and shown an amazing reaction performance-wise for Real Madrid. There are a lot of things going on [in his life] and we are here to help and provide a stable environment for him. He’s still a very young player and he has our full support.”
Tuchel has made a number of other eye-catching moves, not least by bringing back Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and picking the Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott for the first time. England have already secured qualification for next year’s World Cup, giving Tuchel room to experiment this month.
“Alex deserves to be with us,” said Tuchel. “I first closely saw him in the Euros in the under-21s. Since then he stepped up and is a regular starter for Bournemouth who are overperforming in the league. He will come as a No 8. Hopefully he can prove us right and show us his talent and personality.” Tuchel went on to reveal that Elliot Anderson has been left out of the squad on the back of playing through pain and discomfort for Nottingham Forest. Wharton has come in for him.

Squad to play World Cup qualifiers at home to Serbia (Thursday 13 November) and away to Albania (Sunday 16 November)
Goalkeepers Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle).
Defenders Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City).
Midfielders Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).
Forwards Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).

The German has picked a squad of 25 but has made some ruthless decisions. Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek have dropped out in midfield and there is no place for the Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly or the Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins. The Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly keeps his place. The Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope is preferred to City’s James Trafford.
On Watkins, Tuchel said: “We understood and could observe it when we watch Ollie that he is playing through discomfort, so it didn’t make sense to bring him into camp. We wanted to give him a break to get treatment and fight for his place again in March.”