By Opta Analyst | Created at 2025-03-13 16:59:54 | Updated at 2025-03-15 09:34:51
1 day ago
There are those who are almost certain to be in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad, but we looked at some less obvious names with an outside chance of a call-up this week.
New England manager Thomas Tuchel is set to name his first Three Lions squad on 14 March, 73 days after officially starting his role and becoming just the third non-British manager of the men’s team after Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Tuchel’s squad is one of the most eagerly anticipated England selections for a long time, following eight years under Gareth Southgate. His interim replacement, Lee Carsley, picked largely the same players plus some who served him well in the Under-21s during his six-game tenure with the senior squad.
The German has reportedly compiled a 55-player longlist ahead of his first squad selection, but which players will make the final 26-man group for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualification matches versus Albania and Latvia at Wembley?
Our writers picked out five players we think could make the cut, with each of them either uncapped or having extremely limited experience with the England national team.
Myles Lewis-Skelly
England have a left-back problem, Euro 2024 taught us as much. With injuries, retirements and a general lack of depth in the position, there’s now a genuine opportunity for a new name to stake a claim. That might just be Myles Lewis-Skelly.
It’s not his natural position – even Mikel Arteta acknowledged after Arsenal’s win in the north London derby that Lewis-Skelly had “never played as a full-back before.” But such has been the 18-year-old’s rapid rise this season that he’s forcing his way into serious international consideration.
His ascension to the first team has undoubtedly been accelerated by Arsenal’s injury issues, but Lewis-Skelly has quickly shown he belongs at the elite level.
On the ball, he is calm in pressured situations, and a composed figure when Arsenal look to play out from the back. The youngster boasts the highest open-play passing accuracy of any Arsenal player this season (95.0%) and also leads the squad in final-third passing accuracy (92.2%).
Despite being so young, it’s impressive how strong and combative Lewis-Skelly is. Remarkably, he leads all Premier League players this season for ground duel success rate (73.8%). For someone of his age to be doing that is phenomenal.
Oliver Hopkins
Elliot Anderson
It will have been abundantly clear to Tuchel as soon as he took the job that midfield is where he has the greatest embarrassment of riches. England could probably field an entire 26-man squad of quality midfielders.
He’s probably not going to do that, though, so the numbers will have to be whittled down.
Either way, one player who’ll at the very least be in contention is Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, and for many reasons. He offers midfield versatility, his skillset is incredibly well rounded, he’s having a very good season, and he’d provide more defensive work rate than perhaps many of his positional rivals.
England have produced a lot of technically-gifted midfielders and creators over the past 10 years or so, but there’s often been a sense they’ve lacked defensively-shrewd operators.
Anderson, however, works tirelessly. His 6.7 possession recoveries per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season is the fifth most among midfielders (min. 900 mins played), while he ranks fourth among the same group for pressures – defined as closing down an opponent with the intention of winning possession or forcing a pass – in the defensive third of the pitch (13.0) per 90.
But he’s so much more than just a protective shield for the defence or a workhorse.
Among nominal defensive midfielders, he ranks seventh in the Premier League this term for progressive carries – movements with the ball that move play at least five metres upfield – per 90 (11.0). And that is despite him playing for a Nottingham Forest side that have the lowest average share of possession in the competition.
It reflects not only the purpose and drive he can bring to midfield, but also his technical quality on the ball.
That positivity also extends to an attacking threat. He’s had 15 instances of a carry ending with either a shot or chance created, which is the second most among those classed as defensive midfielders this season.
Anderson has the ability and skillset to play pretty much anywhere in the middle of the park. But it’s his effectiveness in a deeper role that might give him the edge, as could the fact he’s no mere destroyer.
Ryan Benson
Djed Spence
Djed Spence had never even started a Premier League game as recently as 14 December, but in the three months since his full debut, he has made himself undroppable at Spurs. His form at club level means he has to be in the conversation for an England call-up, too.
His rise has been quite astonishing. In August, he was left out of Tottenham’s Europa League squad, and he was barely trusted to play a minute in a game of any importance. He made only five appearances in any competition before his first Premier League start at Southampton late last year.
An exceptional defender who is rarely beaten by an opponent in an individual battle, Spence ranks top of all Premier League defenders to play at least 600 minutes this season for duels won per 90 (8.1).
He also brings an attacking threat, particularly with his ability to bring the ball out of defence and carry it up the pitch with purpose. Among the same group of defenders, he comes out on top for both attempted (4.0) and successful (2.2) dribbles per 90. He also tops all Premier League full-backs for progressive carries per 90 (5.7) and for carries followed by a take-on per 90 (1.9) as well.
Able to play either at right-back or left-back, Spence would also bring a useful versatility to a squad limited in size. England aren’t exactly stacked in either position, and Spence is a very good option on both sides of defence.
Ali Tweedale
Liam Delap
Liam Delap has been a bright spark in what has been a largely disappointing season for Ipswich Town in the Premier League. Kieran McKenna’s side currently sit six points from safety and look set to be relegated back to the Championship, but Delap’s form has proved he’s good enough to be a Premier League footballer.
With 10 Premier League goals, he’s scored over a third of Ipswich’s total in the competition this season (38.4%). At this rate, Delap could end up being just the fifth player in Premier League history to score more than 15 for a team that have been relegated that season.
Delap is tall, stocky, quick, has exceptional balance, and the rate at which opponents bounce off him shows how strong he is. He moves with the ball like few others at the top of the game, and he is excelling as one of the Premier League’s best ball carriers in what is his first season of regular action in the top flight.
Of players to have played at least 200 minutes in the Premier League this season, Delap averages the second-longest carries behind Anthony Elanga at 14.4m per carry. He is also one of only four strikers to have played at least 1,500 minutes of Premier League action this season and average over 100m with ball carries per 90 (100.2) alongside Jarrod Bowen, Alexander Isak and João Pedro.
Only 22 years old, Delap could prove to be an able back-up option to Harry Kane as a striker, even more so with Ivan Toney’s move to Saudi Arabia seemingly making it less likely he’ll make Tuchel’s squad.
Matt Furniss
Adam Wharton
One of the more problematic areas for England in recent years has been pairing someone in central midfield with Declan Rice.
With the failed experiment of Trent Alexander-Arnold at Euro 2024 and Conor Gallagher also not working – albeit his form in Spain this season could persuade Tuchel to take a look at him – Southgate turned to teenager Kobbie Mainoo for much of the tournament. It worked to an extent but didn’t feel like an ideal solution, and arguably even less so now with the Manchester United youngster struggling for fitness and form this season.
It therefore seems like an opening is there, and Adam Wharton could be the man to grasp the opportunity. He was part of the squad for Euro 2024 but was one of five Three Lions players who didn’t play a single minute in Germany. His only cap came in a 28-minute substitute appearance in the pre-tournament friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
His time could be now, though. Still only 21 years old, the Crystal Palace midfielder missed around three months of the season with a groin issue but has been a shining light in a buoyant Eagles side since his comeback in early February.
Wharton made his first start of 2025 in the recent 4-1 thrashing of Aston Villa, delighting Selhurst Park with a supreme performance, and has been a key part of Oliver Glasner’s team when available this season.
Of Palace players to have played at least 60 minutes in all competitions in 2024-25, no one has regained possession from opponents as frequently as Wharton (7.4 per 90) and no player averages more open-play chances created per 90 as his 1.6 (level with Eberechi Eze).
In fact, in the Premier League this season, of players to have played at least 800 minutes, no one can match Wharton’s possession won per-90 average of 7.5.
David Segar
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