Star names Jack Grealish, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have all missed out on selection for England’s October internationals with Thomas Tuchel handing another chance to the players who impressed him in September.

There is also no place for Adam Wharton in the squad to face Wales in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday October 9 and then go to Latvia in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday October 14. Fit-again Bukayo Saka returns, with the injured Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento unavailable.

England beat Andorra 2-0 and then thrashed Serbia 5-0 last month, with the win in Belgrade a standout performance.

“We reached a new level and new standards in the last camp,” said Tuchel. “It was clearly visible in the match against Serbia. Why not pick the same players and squad if they are available? They have to prove the point again. They set the standard and now they have to make sure the standards become more stable. This is the chance they have.”

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Bellingham – who was named England’s player of the year this week – has made just one start for Real Madrid since returning from shoulder surgery. “He deserves to always be in camp,” said Tuchel of Bellingham. “The situation is he has not gathered full rhythm [since returning from his injury].”

Grealish, who has impressed on loan at Everton with four assists from six appearances, is yet to feature in a squad under Tuchel, with his last England appearance coming in October 2024.

Foden, who was left out of the June internationals to address physical and mental health issues but was then overlooked in September, has been performing well for Man City with two goals and two assists to his name.

“Are there players out who deserve to be with us? For sure,” said Tuchel. “Is there a way back into the team through performance? 100 per cent, for sure. But at the moment we think this is the best and most straightforward decision.”

John Stones, who was initially called up last time but pulled out with injury, is back playing for Man City and included again.

AC Milan’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek is called up again, after being a late replacement for Wharton in September after the Crystal Palace midfielder pulled out with injury. Wharton has started Palace’s last three games, playing 90 minutes in their Conference League win against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night.

Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also out injured. Jarell Quansah, another late call-up last month, retains his spot.

England’s wins in September cemented their place at the top of Group K in World Cup qualifying. If Serbia fail to beat Albania on October 12, England will be just one win away from confirming their place at next summer’s World Cup.

‘Lack of rhythm’ – Tuchel defends Bellingham omission

Bellingham has featured three times off the bench for Real Madrid since returning from injury and made his first start of the season during the 5-2 defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid. When asked about why Bellingham was omitted from the latest squad, Tuchel referenced his lack of “rhythm” as the reason why.

“First of all, Jude is a very special player. For special players, there can always be special rules,” Tuchel said.

“For this camp, we decided to invite the same team. That applies to Jude; he deserves to always be in camp.

“The situation is he has not gathered full rhythm. He hasn’t finished one full match and has only started one match. When he gets back to full strength, there is an extra layer to the decision.

“He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call but he just lacks rhythm. We stayed with our decision.”

A question regarding Bellingham’s importance to the national team followed, to which Tuchel added: “Do I believe we’re a stronger team with Jude? Yes. Is he one of the best players in the world in midfield? Yes.

“But what are we doing if a player like Jude is injured before the World Cup? Do we not travel? This is a team sport. We have to find solutions if players are injured, like now Cole Palmer.

“We found solutions in the last camp. This is more about the last camp and what we started to build than the dependency on individual players. It can never be the solution to depend on one player in football.”

Tuchel’s ‘shocking’ Bellingham decision magnifies situation

Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett:

“It has [magnified the situation]. Tuchel made it clear that if he wanted to, he could have called Bellingham up into this squad.

“While he acknowledged that Bellingham is recovering from a shoulder operation, he made it clear that it was a decision to leave him out, along with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.

“It is really shocking and we cannot understate what a huge decision this is, especially at No 10.

“The general consensus is that England’s three best No 10s are Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

“Palmer is not available but the other two are. Foden is playing great but Tuchel chose not to select them.

“The only reason he has done that is because the 5-0 win against Serbia was really impressive, and there was a good mood in camp. He wanted to reward the players for that.”

England squad in full

Goalkeepers: Henderson, Pickford, Trafford.

Defenders: Burn, Guehi, James, Konsa, Lewis-Skelly, Quansah, Spence, Stones.

Midfielders: Anderson, Gibbs-White, Henderson, Loftus-Cheek, Rice, Rogers.

Forwards: Bowen, Eze, Gordon, Kane, Rashford, Saka, Watkins.

England’s October fixtures

England vs Wales – 7.45pm kick-off, October 9 – Friendly

Latvia vs England – 7.45pm kick-off, October 14 – World Cup Qualifier