While England might have initially failed to come flying out of the traps following Thomas Tuchel’s official reign getting underway back in March, the Three Lions are certainly finding their feet under the former Chelsea boss.
Storming their way to next summer’s World Cup over in North America and not breaking a sweat, England officially punched their ticket on Tuesday night as they clinched a routine 5-0 romp away at Latvia.
However, although the European giants might have won all of their six qualifying appearances by an aggregate score of 18-0, Tuchel has come under some scrutiny for his squad selections over the past few months.
Although the likes of skipper and striking record-breaker Harry Kane might be one of the superstar names who are guaranteed a plane ticket next summer, many Premier League aces face what appears to be a major uphill battle.
With the 2026 World Cup now fast approaching, we have taken a look at some of the England internationals who are firmly on the outside of Tuchel’s squad looking in.
Jack Grealish
Completely omitted from Pep Guardiola’s travelling squad for the Club World Cup over the summer and only featuring for one-minute in any of Manchester City’s final five Premier League appearances last season, Jack Grealish certainly found himself at a major career crossroads.
With Guardiola making it abundantly clear that their former £100million arrival would not be part of his plans for the 2025/26 campaign, City were desperate to push the ex-Aston Villa skipper out of the Etihad exit on either a permanent or temporary basis.
Despite winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FA Cup after completing a record-breaking move from Villa back in August 2021, Grealish largely failed to find his tantalising best under the former Barcelona boss.
However, eventually completing a shock season-long loan switch to Everton over the summer, the 30-year-old is clearly relishing life in the blue half of Merseyside.
Although Grealish might have once again been overlooked by Tuchel this month, he has recorded five direct goal contributions in his first seven Premier League appearances and was also named as the Player of the Month for August.
Thomas Tuchel says he has “no problem” with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden or Jack Grealish 🤝🏴
The trio were left out of his latest England squad ❌ pic.twitter.com/dJmTUjbR8z
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 3, 2025
Phil Foden
Although Phil Foden might have only registered seven Premier League goals last season, it would have been almost incomprehensible just 12 months ago that Phil Foden would be considered an outside contender to be on the plane to North America next summer.
Despite only notching a single top-flight strike since opening up the new campaign back in August, Manchester City‘s academy superstar does appear to be getting back to his sensational best.
Starting in all of City’s final seven appearances across all competitions prior to October’s international break, Foden has once again established himself as a key part of Guardiola’s plans.
However, despite being included in Tuchel’s maiden England squad back in March, the 25-year-old hasn’t been seen since and dramatically finds himself in the Three Lions wilderness.
Watching the likes of new Arsenal recruit Eberechi Eze play a more prominent role since Tuchel got his tenure underway earlier in the year, Tuchel has also suggested that Real Madrid icon Jude Bellingham will be reinstalled ahead of next summer.
🚨🏴 Pep Guardiola on Foden out: “Tuchel knows what he needs a thousand times, million times, trillion times, better than me. All I can say is if Phil plays like he’s been playing, he will be back”. pic.twitter.com/twBFmibrAs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 3, 2025
Adam Wharton
While Adam Wharton might have only completed a reported £18million move to Crystal Palace in February 2024, the former Blackburn academy ace has embarked on a sensational rise among England’s elite.
Taking to Premier League football immediately and relishing the drastically leap up in opposition, the 21-year-old has only continued to receive a string of plaudits from across the continent and many have billed Palace’s midfield star as one of Europe’s hottest potential starlets.
At the heart of Palace’s public fairytale this year, Wharton was included by Gareth Southgate in England’s EURO 24 squad last summer and was widely expected to be a long-time partner for Arsenal star Declan Rice.
However, with fans from up and down the country might be completely bewildered by Wharton’s continued absence, Tuchel appears to have made it clear that 35-year-old Jordan Henderson is part of his plans ahead of next summer.
Although Crystal Palace‘s midfield talisman might remain linked with some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, he has not made a senior England appearance since June 2024 and it appears that Tuchel does not understand the excitement around Wharton.
Jack Grealish, Adam Wharton and Phil Foden have been three of the standout players in the Premier League this season…
None of them have been called up by Thomas Tuchel for the international break 😳 pic.twitter.com/Nd9LgjdWjg
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 3, 2025
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