Thomas Tuchel has opted to leave Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarell Quansah and Aaron Ramsdale out of the England matchday squad to face Albania at Wembley this evening. The German is set to take charge of his first-ever match as England boss in the World Cup qualifier.

It’s the beginning of the road to the 2026 World Cup for Tuchel and England, as the Three Lions go in search of a first major title since 1966. Back-to-back European Championship final defeats under previous boss Gareth Southgate has left the nation pining for success and Tuchel hasn’t wasted any time in making his mark.

After naming an initial squad that split opinion, the ex-Chelsea manager has chosen Gibbs-White, Quansah and Ramsdale as the trio to miss out on a spot in the matchday squad altogether. Competition rules state that only 23 players can be named either in the starting line-up or on the bench, with Gibbs-White, Quansah and Ramsdale the unfortunate three to miss out.

It’s a decision that is once again likely to spark debate, especially in the case of Gibbs-White, who has been in scintillating form for Champions League-chasing Nottingham Forest this season. However, perhaps the decision was made easier by the fact Gibbs-White had initially been left out of the overall squad but was later recalled after Cole Palmer went down with a knock.

When quizzed about the initial snub, he told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Obviously I was upset. Yeah, a little bit disappointed but when he told me, I respected his decision. The standard of players is top-level.

“I said to him back like ‘I feel like I’ve done enough to get the call-up, considering the form level that we were in, but obviously you’re the manager, you make the decisions, and I respect that totally’. So, obviously, it was disappointing but then Sunday I got the call, so I was straight here.

“It was about 4 or 5 o’clock. He sent me a message to say ‘Are you free to talk?’ And I think I replied within like 30 seconds. He phoned me up and said ‘Are you still upset with me, or do you want to come and join us and fancy training tomorrow?’ Obviously, there’s no question there. I said I’d obviously love to come and join and train with the boys, so, yeah, found out Sunday late afternoon and I was just smiling from ear to ear.”

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