LONDON: England coach Thomas Tuchel has left Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his squad on Friday for upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Andorra and Serbia.

Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford and Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace are back in the squad, while Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence have both been called up to the senior squad for the first time.

But there was no place for Jack Grealish, who has impressed already during his loan move to Everton from Manchester City. Kyle Walker and Ivan Toney were also left out of Tuchel’s squad.

England play Andorra at Villa Park on Sept 6, and then Serbia three days later in Belgrade.

Spain also announced their announced on Friday for the qualifiers as Dani Carvajal and Rodri were named for the qualifiers against Bulgaria and Turkiye.

Both player returned to action for their clubs at the Club World Cup after being absent with long-term knee injuries.

Spain visit Bulgaria on Sept 4 in their Group ‘E’ opener, before travelling to Turkiye on Sept 7.

Georgia are the other nation in the four-team group, with the winners progressing to the tournament next summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025