Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been recalled to the England squad by manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
England, who secured qualification for next year’s tournament with two matches to spare, round off Group K with next Thursday’s match against Serbia at Wembley and a trip to Albania three days later.
Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham was left out of Tuchel’s squad for games in October, when the 22-year-old had just returned from shoulder surgery.
Manchester City forward Phil Foden is involved for the first time since Tuchel’s first camp in March.
Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is the most eye-catching inclusion in the 25-man squad, with Nico O’Reilly and Jarell Quansah the other uncapped players involved.
There are recalls for Adam Wharton and Nick Pope, while Morgan Gibbs-White, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Myles Lewis-Skelly, James Trafford, and Ollie Watkins have dropped out.
Tuchel opted against recalling midfielder Jack Grealish, who is on loan at Everton from Manchester City, while Real Madrid right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold also misses out.
England sealed their place at the year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States last month with a 5-0 victory over Latvia in Riga.
Relatedly, Saudi Arabia-based veteran N’Golo Kante returned to the France squad to reinforce the injury-hit midfield for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
Victory over Ukraine on November 13 at the Parc des Princes would ensure France’s qualification for the tournament in North America.
If they fail, Les Bleus will have another opportunity against Azerbaijan in Baku on November 16.
With Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni and AC Milan’s Adrien Rabiot both injured, coach Didier Deschamps recalled the 34-year-old Kante, who plays for Al-Ittihad, as a midfield option.
The former Premier League winner with Chelsea and Leicester has 64 caps, but his last France appearance was against Israel in a Nations League group game on November 14, 2024.
Warren Zaire-Emery of Paris Saint-Germain has also been recalled in midfield. The 19-year-old was demoted to the Paris Saint-Germain under-21s after a poor start to the season, but with injuries to Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, he returned to the first team and has rediscovered his form.
In the absence of Doue and Dembele, Deschamps has also made changes in more attacking positions, recalling Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki and Tottenham’s Randal Kolo Muani.
Cherki scored on his debut in a Nations League semi-final loss to Spain in June but missed the first set of autumn internationals due to injury.
Kolo Muani is recalled after his promotion to the starting lineup at Spurs. He is the second-highest international scorer in the squad with nine France goals behind Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, who has hit 53 in his 93 appearances.
