Key Takeaways:
- Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, and Cole Palmer have withdrawn from the England squad ahead of the September and October international fixtures
- Thomas Tuchel has named Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner as replacements, with the possibility of more call-ups under consideration
- England are set to begin their Nations League campaign against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, followed by away matches against Croatia and Czechia
Squad Disruptions Ahead of Busy International Schedule
England’s preparations for their first matches since their World Cup disappointment have been disrupted by the withdrawal of five players, with Declan Rice headlining the absentees. Rice has been joined on the sidelines by Marcus Rashford, Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, and Cole Palmer, all of whom have been forced to pull out ahead of September and October’s extended Nations League programme.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has moved swiftly to begin addressing these gaps, promoting Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner to the senior squad. Discussions are ongoing regarding whether three further replacements will be named to compensate for the five withdrawals.
Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice have all been ruled of our forthcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.
James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White have subsequently been called up and will join up with the rest of the squad on Tuesday.
— England (@England) September 21, 2026
Upcoming Fixtures and Tuchel’s Selection Decisions
The Three Lions’ international campaign commences with a highly anticipated Nations League clash at Wembley against Spain – a fixture that could have been last summer’s World Cup final had England not suffered a late semi-final defeat to Argentina in July. Tuchel’s side will then head into consecutive away matches against Croatia and Czechia before concluding this run of fixtures with the reverse encounter against Czechia next month.
England’s full squad will convene at St. George’s Park later this week to begin formal preparations for the opener against Spain on Saturday.
| Player Withdrawn | Replacement Called Up |
|---|---|
| Declan Rice | Morgan Gibbs-White |
| Marcus Rashford | James Garner |
| Tino Livramento | — |
| Kobbie Mainoo | — |
| Cole Palmer | — |
Manager Comments on Squad Selection and Expectations
Tuchel initially faced scrutiny for not including Gibbs-White in his original squad list, despite acknowledging the Nottingham Forest midfielder’s form: “Close but it is always the same, it does not make sense to nominate three, four number 10s, it just does not help anyone.
“We can see the form that Morgan is in, and he ended the season very strongly and was a key player for Forest to not be relegated, and we can see him stepping up now. I will say it is one thing to be nominated, like with Cole and getting your ticket back in the squad, but it is another thing to perform for England and that also counts.”
Reflecting on the broader ambitions of the national setup and highlighting England’s recent achievements, Tuchel added: “It is important to recognise the records that we have as a federation, the record we have in the last 10 years, arriving in semi-finals, quarter-finals, winning a bronze medal for the first time in 60 years. It is important to recognise that and acknowledge at the same time that we haven’t pushed it over the line.
“If ambition is so high and we arrived with the highest ambition in the US, the disappointment is on the same level, also very high and the downside, we didn’t only arrive ambitious, we created belief through our matches, created belief within the squad, as a country. The downside is, it hurts even more if you don’t make it. This is where we are but I think coming back to the positives, we built the brotherhood, we had a fantastic spirit and the team showed a never give in mentality and we will not compromise on that.”
