England drop Alexander-Arnold; Spence & Anderson called up

Elliot Anderson and Djed Spence’s uncapped duo have been called up for the England squad, with Trent Alexander-Arnold not included in Thomas Tuchel’s most recent England squad.

Alexander-Arnold, a right-back, left Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer and was chosen for Tuchel’s previous team.

He will not be included in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Andorra.

Alexander-Arnold, 26, was not in the starting lineup for Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Real Oviedo on Sunday.

Marcus Rashford and Adam Wharton have been calleds, but Jordan Henderson, age 35, who has played in three of Tuchel’s four games as manager, is once more included along with Morgan Gibbs-White.

However, Ivan Toney, Ivan Toney, and his former Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden, or Kyle Walker, 35, will not have a place there. Since Tuchel became in charge, Tino Livramento and John Stones have received their first calls.

Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill, and Bukayo Saka, all miss out due to injury.

On Saturday, September 6 at Villa Park (17:00 BST), England take on Andorra, who are ranked 174 in the world.

The senior team’s first visit to Aston Villa’s grounds since 2005’s goalless draw with the Netherlands.

Tuchel’s side then travels to Belgrade on September 9 (19: 45) to face Serbia.

Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, and Djed Spence are the defenders.

Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton, Morgan Rogers, and Declan Rice are the midfielders.

Anderson, 22, has been given a boost for his impressive form since joining the City Ground from Newcastle in July 2024.

Bellingham is replaced by him in Tuchel’s 24-man squad.

Anderson also participated in England’s summer Under-21 World Cup triumph.

When asked why Anderson was chosen, Tuchel responded, “A regular player for Nottingham Forest and had a fantastic season.”

He looks forward to making his mark by joining us and is excited to do so.

Based on these observations, “Tino Livramento is also with us because they had a very successful Under-21 Euros tournament.”

Spence, 25, has a chance to play senior level and has previously represented England at under-21 level seven times between 2022 and 2023.

Alexander-Arnold, a Liverpool-born player, surprised the audience by saying his move was “a dream come true” in Spanish when he was unveiled as a Real Madrid player in June.

He has now accepted that he has only had a bench position for his new club for a week and that he has to accept that he hasn’t won any of his 34 England caps since September.

Nine months before the 2026 World Cup starts, his Three Lions omission is made.

On the BBC Euro Leagues podcast, Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague stated, “The Spanish media has a narrative about Trent: Dani Carvajal will surpass him. He’s too shy, he doesn’t fit in,” the journalist said.

I’m hoping he hears this.

He presents a significant challenge. Can he quickly and consistently adapt to a Xabi Alonso team and go up and down [the right-hand side]?