England drop Alexander-Arnold; Spence & Anderson called up

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been left out of Thomas Tuchel's latest England squad, with call-ups for uncapped duo Elliot Anderson and Djed Spence.

Right-back Alexander-Arnold left Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer and was named in Tuchel's previous squad.

However, he has not be named in the squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.

Alexander-Arnold, 26, was left out of the starting line-up for Real Madrid's 3-0 win at Real Oviedo on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Anderson and Tottenham full-back Spence get their first call-ups, though Everton winger Jack Grealish misses out despite Tuchel's assistant Anthony Barry watching him impress in last weekend's win against Brighton.

There are recalls for Marcus Rashford, Adam Wharton and Jarrod Bowen, while 35-year-old Jordan Henderson - who has featured in three of Tuchel's four games in charge - is again included.

But there is no place for Kyle Walker, 35, his former Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden, Trevoh Chalobah or Ah-Ahli striker Ivan Toney. Tino Livramento and John Stones get their first call-ups since Tuchel took charge.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is out through injury along with Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill.

Tuchel said "the competition is on" for places, with the World Cup starting next June.

"I don't like the phone calls [telling players they are not included] but I kind of like them because it shows we have players pushing and players fighting for a place in the squad," the England manager said.

"That's exactly what we want."

Tuchel named a 26-man squad last time out but the German has deliberately cut it for 24 for September's games.

"We have made the squad more tight, more competitive. We have to create a better feeling, we have to bring more energy," he added.

England play Andorra - who are 174th in Fifa's world rankings, at Villa Park on Saturday, 6 September (17:00 BST).

It will be the first time the senior side have played at Aston Villa's home since a goalless draw with the Netherlands in 2005.

Tuchel's side then travel to Belgrade to play Serbia on Tuesday, 9 September (19:45).

England sit top of Group K with three wins out of three, although they did lose their last match 3-1 - a friendly against Senegal at the City Ground on 10 June.

Trent Alexander-Arnold made his England debut in 2018 and has 34 caps and four goals

Full England squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Man City), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace).

Defenders: Reece James (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), John Stones (Man City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Djed Spence (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Declan Rice (Arsenal).

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, on loan from Man Utd), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

'I hope Anderson can make his mark'

Anderson, 22, is rewarded for his impressive form since moving to the City Ground from Newcastle in July 2024.

He takes the place of Bellingham in Tuchel's 24-man squad.

Anderson also starred in England's Under-21 Euros triumph over the summer.

"A regular player for Nottingham Forest and had a fantastic season," said Tuchel when asked about his reasons for including Anderson.

"He is excited to come join us and hope he can make his mark.

"Tino Livramento is also with us based on these observations, because they had a very good tournament at Under-21 Euros."

Spence, 25, represented England at under-21 level seven times between 2022 and 2023 and now gets his chance at senior level.

He has missed just five Tottenham games in all competitions since he made his full Premier League debut for the club in a 5-0 win over Southampton in December.

Bad week for Alexander-Arnold

When Alexander-Arnold was unveiled as a Real Madrid player in June, the Liverpool-born player impressed the crowd by speaking in Spanish and said his move was "a dream come true".

Now, in the space of a week, he has had to make do with a place on the bench for his new club and come to terms with not adding to his 34 England caps in September.

His Three Lions omission comes nine months before the start of the 2026 World Cup.

"The Spanish media have a narrative already on Trent: 'he's too shy, he doesn't fit in, Dani Carvajal will surpass him'," Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague said on the BBC Euro Leagues podcast.

"I hope he hears this.

"He has a big challenge. We know he can go up and down [the right-hand side], but can he adapt to a Xabi Alonso team and do it consistently?

"Trent needs an education on what he needs to do."

'Age catching up with Walker'

We are starting to see Tuchel make his picks clear and his opinions known to players. He had Alexander-Arnold in the squad in the summer, but he didn't start either game.

Walker has been very vocal about chasing 100 caps [currently on 96] but he looked slightly off the pace in the Senegal friendly in June. Age might be catching up with him.

Ten players are out from the last squad.

One reason is that is that England only beat Andorra 1-0 in June before losing 3-1 to Senegal.

There are injuries to key players like Bellingham, Palmer and Saka as well. They would be near enough certainties to play for England if they were fit.