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 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.

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.

Adam Wharton is back in the England squad after again impressing for Crystal Palace this season. Photograph: MDI/Shutterstock

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.

More to follow …