England head coach Thomas Tuchel has made the decision to leave out Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarell Quansah, and Aaron Ramsdale from his matchday squad for Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Albania at Wembley. Despite being initially excluded from the squad, Nottingham Forest midfielder Gibbs-White was called up to replace Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who pulled out due to injury. However, Uefa rules restrict the number of players a manager can select to just 23 for each fixture, forcing Tuchel to make difficult choices for the squad.
With a 26-player selection for both the Albania and Latvia fixtures, Tuchel was required to cut three players for each match, resulting in Gibbs-White, Liverpool defender Quansah, and Southampton goalkeeper Ramsdale being left out of the starting lineup for his first match in charge of the national team.
England will be captained by Harry Kane, with Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice expected to start in midfield. Meanwhile, Phil Foden, Morgan Rogers, and Anthony Gordon are all vying for spots in the attack alongside Kane.
An interesting aspect to look out for in Friday’s game is the formation Tuchel selects. During training this week, the team primarily worked with a back four, a formation that could indicate a shift in strategy as Tuchel prepares for the clash against Albania. While Tuchel has traditionally favored a back three—used during his successful tenure at Chelsea, where he won the Champions League—the back four could be his preferred choice going forward with England.
