Palmer left out of England Squad; Jobe Bellingham earns first senior call-up

Chelsea attacking midfielder Cole Palmer was left out of the England squad for this month's Nations League matches by Thomas Tuchel. The Three Lions' head coach on Friday announced the 25-man squad to feature against Croatia and Spain, which did not include Palmer.

Palmer's omission comes two months after the Chelsea player withdrew from England's September camp with a muscle injury, prompting manager Thomas Tuchel to question the 24-year-old's availability after a series of injury-enforced absences.

"Everyone’s desperate to play for England and Cole is no exception," Tuchel said at the time. “It counts when you are in camp. He misses too many opportunities to impress.”

"It’s not personal. The competition is on. The players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place," said the German tactician. Palmer scored five goals and provided three assists in 11 appearances across all competitions this season for Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Jobe Bellingham, the younger brother of English superstar Jude Bellingham, was rewarded with a maiden senior call-up for his impressive stint with Borussia Dortmund and England's under-21 side. Fulham's 19-year-old attacker Josh King was also included after previously joining England's pre-World Cup training camp in Florida.

Arsenal right-back Ben White made the Three Lions camp while Noni Madueke missed out on a call-up despite his excellent form with the club. England are second in Group C of the tournament and will host Croatia at Wembley before travelling to Madrid to face the world champions, Spain.
(With Reuters input).

England Squad:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jason Steele, James Trafford

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall, Ezri Konsa, Jarrel Quansah, Djed Spence, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Benjamin White

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, James Garner, Jobe Bellingham, Josh King, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Rio Ngumoha, Morgan Rogers