England begin their latest Nations League campaign against World Cup winners Spain at Wembley tonight, with Thomas Tuchel forced to reshape his squad after a spate of withdrawals.
Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento all pulled out earlier this week, prompting late call-ups for James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Squad update and training news
All 24 members of Tuchel’s revised squad took part in Thursday’s session at Tottenham’s training ground in Enfield. The only absentee on Wednesday at St George’s Park was Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall.
England Under-19 internationals Kaden Braithwaite of Manchester City and Tottenham’s Malachi Hardy were invited by Tuchel on Wednesday to join the seniors’ training session to help boost numbers.
Selection dilemmas for Tuchel
Tuchel is expected to field his strongest available side for the visit of Spain on Saturday night, with three more Group A3 games to follow during this extended three-week international break, including two matches against the Czech Republic and a trip to Croatia.
The recalled Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only natural right-back in the squad, but Tuchel could deploy versatile Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jarell Quansah in that position if he wants more defensive solidity.
“I will not tell you, of course,” Tuchel said on Friday when asked whether Alexander-Arnold might start against Spain. “He will fight with Jarell Quansah for the position. That’s what the competition is.”
Midfield opportunity and predicted XI
The absences of Rice, Mainoo, Jordan Henderson and Reece James could open the door for a fresh midfield partner for Elliot Anderson. Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott are both contenders, while Jude Bellingham could drop deeper to allow a different attacking midfielder to start at No10, where the Real Madrid star usually plays.
If captain and Ballon d’Or favourite Harry Kane features in all four matches over the coming weeks, he will draw level with Peter Shilton as England men’s all-time most-capped player.
Predicted England XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Bellingham; Saka, Rogers, Gordon; Kane.
Withdrawn: Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo, Livramento. Kick-off is at 7:45pm BST on Saturday September 26, 2026, at Wembley Stadium, London, with the match broadcast live on ITV.
