Thomas Tuchel, the head coach of England, has given an explanation for his selection of Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson in his squad for the World Cup 2026 qualifying matches against Latvia and Albania in March.
Rashford hasn’t played for England since March 2024, and his poor play at Manchester United kept him out of the squad for Euro 2024. However, the forward’s impressive play while on loan at Aston Villa has earned him a recall.
Henderson, the 34-year-old captain of Ajax, is a surprise addition to the team as he returns for the first time since November 2023. “It’s a pretty easy one. He’s a serial winner, he’s captain of Ajax at the moment and he’s played a lot of matches,” When questioned by reporters about the choice to call up, Tuchel said Henderson.
“What he brings to every team is leadership, character, personality, energy. He makes sure that everyone lives by the standards. We’re trying to build a team for our fans are proud of… Jordan embodies everything we want from this team.”
Rashford’s “huge impact at Aston Villa” is praised by Tuchel.
Addressing Rashford, Tuchel said: “It’s a familiar face back in the team. I felt Marcus had a huge impact at Aston Villa.
“The physical impact was impressive and most importantly, the impact against the ball – his work rate, his defensive impact, his hard work in counter-pressing, his tracking back in his position.
“I had the strong feeling that we should bring him in to push him to stay on that level and not fall back in old routines.”
In the meantime, it was decided to give Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal a first call-up: “We ran out of left-footers who can play left-back with injuries lately.”
“We were always impressed with Myles… Mikel Arteta picks him regularly and this is very impressive from the start. I can understand that it feels like we have fast forwarded a career already on a fast pace.
“The talks over the last few weeks had a parental and protective vibe, we even thought we should not nominate him to protect him by going to the U21s. But in the end with injuries, quality and maturity, we decided to take him.”
Is Tuchel planning to use White, an Arsenal defender?
Ben White, an Arsenal defender, has now made himself available for selection, according to Tuchel. However, the German felt that it was too soon to include him in the squad because of his injury problems this season.
“He’d love to be back in the squad but I just think it is a bit too early for him given the seriousness of the injury he had,” said the manager.
“We are speaking to Ben and are delighted he is back on the bench and had a Champions League match in the second leg. It’s about getting the minutes so he can have every chance of being back.”
Due to rumors of an alleged incident involving Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland, White has not played for England since the 2022 World Cup. He informed former Three Lions head coach Gareth Southgate that he did not want to be considered for selection.
The defender, 27, has recently made a comeback to action after undergoing knee surgery in November. He has participated in four of Arsenal’s last five games across all competitions.
Those who were left out of the squad include Jack Grealish of Manchester City, Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa, and Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest. Henderson’s choice over players like Conor Gallagher of Atletico Madrid and Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace has also drawn criticism.