England's New Squad: Palmer's Impact, Tuchel's Choices
Cole Palmer has kicked the door down at Chelsea this season. Four goals, two assists in six games, and a telepathic understanding with Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro. He looks like a player who’s been waiting months to be let off the leash.
“Cole has his numbers back,” Thomas Tuchel said. “Assists, decisive goals. I think he has a point to prove.”
He does – and not just to Chelsea. Left out of Tuchel’s World Cup squad, Palmer watched from afar as England fell short. Injury and fatigue after the Club World Cup had dulled his edge back then; he looked nothing like the slick creator he is now. The enforced break has clearly reset him. Rested, refreshed, close to his peak again.
Could even that jaded version of Palmer have helped England in North America? Plenty will insist he could. That debate will run and run.
The real question now is different: where does he fit?
Jude Bellingham owns the No 10 role. The Real Madrid star was one of the standout players of the World Cup and has only tightened his grip since. Bukayo Saka is flying again for Arsenal on the right. On the left, Anthony Gordon has exploded at Barcelona after shining for England in the summer.
Rogers is another problem – the good kind. Tuchel has built trust in the Chelsea forward, and his chemistry with Palmer at club level is one of the most exciting attacking links in the Premier League. Getting both of them on the pitch, alongside Bellingham and Saka, without unbalancing the side will test Tuchel’s imagination.
He has options. He does not have space.
Mainoo’s Second Chance
Kobbie Mainoo went to the World Cup and didn’t play a minute. Not one. The Manchester United midfielder was the only outfield player to suffer that fate.
This time, Tuchel has put his name on the line.
“I expect him to be on the pitch and it's my duty to get him on the pitch,” the England manager said. “That was totally on me. He didn't put a foot wrong during the World Cup.
“He was class in behaviour on the training pitch. There was big competition; we played Reece (James) in central midfield also. Elliot Anderson is amazing for us; Declan Rice is a very unique player.
“We trusted them more than we trusted Kobbie. It was difficult for him. It was on me.”
Mainoo has started the season strongly for United. The competition in England’s midfield remains brutal, but Tuchel’s words matter: this is not a token recall. A three-week camp and four Nations League fixtures should give the 19-year-old real minutes, and a genuine chance to show why he should be more than a training-ground extra.
Trent Back From the Cold
Trent Alexander-Arnold in an England squad should never feel like a shock. Yet here we are.
Tuchel had previously been blunt: Alexander-Arnold was not the profile of right-back he wanted. Even when Tino Livramento was injured before the World Cup, Tuchel declined to call up the former Liverpool defender. That decision looked stranger every time the manager complained about England’s inability to keep the ball under pressure.
Alexander-Arnold has not been in an England squad since the summer of 2025. Now he’s back.
“He was never non-selectable,” Tuchel insisted. “Now is his chance to show, come to camp, be the best version of himself. He comes as a right-back for us.”
This is not some automatic reward for form. At Real Madrid this season he has one assist from five appearances. His recent outing in central midfield in the Champions League win over Inter Milan underlined the same old puzzle. Jose Mourinho praised his application but highlighted how often he lost possession and the physical demands of the role.
Last season he was jostling with Dani Carvajal for the right-back slot at Real. This year, Denzel Dumfries has arrived to push him again. The passing range is still outrageous. The questions about his defending have not gone away.
Tuchel’s change of heart is significant. He has been clear: Alexander-Arnold is here as a right-back. How rigidly he sticks to that – and whether he can finally unlock Trent’s talent without exposing his flaws – will shape one of the defining storylines of this international break.
From Control to Chaos?
After the defeat to Argentina, Tuchel went hard on England’s “DNA”. He argued that his players could not control high-pressure games with the ball the way Spain can. It sounded like a manager wrestling with his own ideals.
Now, with Palmer and Alexander-Arnold recalled, it looks like he has admitted he left some of his best ball-players at home in the summer. But his latest press conference hinted at something else: maybe England shouldn’t chase control at all.
“The more I reflect on it [the Argentina loss], it's more buying into our strengths and playing more like in the second half against Croatia, or first half against France,” Tuchel said. “We get a lot of value out of it [this style]. This is what the Premier League reflects.
“Football is about adapting to situations, and football without any control is sometimes hard to digest for a coach. If you look at the 6-4 against France, people talk about it like it's one of their nicest experiences ever to watch a football match.
“Maybe I have to compromise in my wish for control - maybe we need more chaos, to embrace the chaos. Maybe it brings out the best.
“We will adjust our style but always to put the strengths of the players on the first priority.”
So here is the pivot: if England can’t dominate games like Spain, maybe they lean into the Premier League’s wildness. Bellingham driving, Palmer drifting, Alexander-Arnold threading passes from deep, transitions flying in all directions. It might be hard on a coach’s nerves. It might also be England’s best route to hurting elite opposition.
Gibbs-White Squeezed Out
Every squad announcement has a hard-luck story. Morgan Gibbs-White is this one’s headline omission.
The Nottingham Forest playmaker was superb last season: 15 Premier League goals, four assists, and the central figure in their survival. He has started this campaign in the same gear.
He still hasn’t made it in.
Gibbs-White is trapped in a brutal numbers game at No 10. Palmer returns to a group that already includes Bellingham, Rogers and Eberechi Eze. Tuchel was blunt.
“He was close but it's always the same,” he said. “It makes no sense to choose three, four or five No 10s. It just doesn't help anyone. We can see the form that Morgan is in. He ended the season strongly and was the key player for Forest to not be relegated.”
The comparison with Eze will sting. The Arsenal attacker has not started a Premier League match this season and produced roughly half of Gibbs-White’s goal involvements last term. Yet it is Eze who travels, Gibbs-White who stays home.
Tuchel’s challenge to Palmer doubles as a warning to everyone in that role.
“It's one thing to be chosen, like Cole, and get your ticket back to the squad, but it's another thing to perform for England,” he said. “Cole, especially, needs to step up when he comes and show these kinds of numbers and performances to get his place, keep his shirt and justify the nomination.”
If Palmer doesn’t, Gibbs-White will be first in line. He just has to keep banging on the door.
Foden Drifting Further Away
Gibbs-White is not the only creator on the outside. Phil Foden is watching this from Manchester as well.
The Manchester City forward was left out of the World Cup squad and has not forced his way back in. Tuchel did call him up in March and November 2025, and Foden’s start to this season was encouraging before a red card in the Manchester derby halted his momentum.
Now, with England stacked in central attacking areas and Tuchel turning back to technicians like Alexander-Arnold and Palmer, Foden faces a huge fight. This omission, after that disciplinary setback and with competition intensifying, will cut deep.
Tuchel’s Youth Movement
Look down the list and one trend jumps off the page: Tuchel has gone young.
Jordan Henderson, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins – all out. In come Myles Lewis-Skelly, Alex Scott and Rio Ngumoha, all 23 or under, with Ngumoha having turned 18 less than a month ago.
Ngumoha is the eye-catcher. The Liverpool teenager travelled with England’s pre-tournament camp in Florida before the World Cup and has featured in five of their six games this season. He hasn’t registered a goal or assist yet, but his impact has been strong enough to convince Tuchel he belongs.
Lewis-Skelly’s case is more straightforward. The Arsenal midfielder has been outstanding for the unbeaten league leaders, dictating from deep, recording two assists and keeping £75m signing Bruno Guimaraes out of the starting XI.
Scott’s rise has been steadier but just as impressive. He was a key part of the Bournemouth side that qualified for European football for the first time last season, and that form sparked serious interest from Chelsea and Manchester United over the summer.
“We had three players in prep camp with us [before the World Cup], Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha and Josh [King], all three of them were fantastic members of the squad,” Tuchel said.
“Not only because they were nice and reliable and excellent characters, but they showed the quality, courage and curiosity on the pitch, which was very nice to see.”
This is not yet a full tactical revolution. Tuchel has not ripped up his plans. But his first squad since the World Cup is a clear signal: he is willing to move on from some established names and hand the stage to the next wave.
The Squad and the Tests Ahead
The 26-man group is stacked with storylines.
- Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Leeds United)
- Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Trevoh Chalobah (Como), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Jarrell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth)
- Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Spain at home on September 26. Czech Republic away three days later. Croatia away on October 3. A Nations League block that offers no hiding place.
By the end of those three games, we’ll know a lot more. Can Palmer force Tuchel to redraw his attacking map? Will Alexander-Arnold finally look like an England cornerstone instead of a tactical headache? Can Mainoo and the kids turn promise into presence?
And if Tuchel really is ready to “embrace the chaos”, what kind of England will emerge from it?
