England have added four young stars to their squad for pre-World Cup training camp to help with preparations, including Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri and Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott
Opinion was divided in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad (Image: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
England have called up Ethan Nwaneri and three other young talents to their pre-World Cup training camp squad as they prepare for the opening game of the tournament in Florida.
The Germans had just announced the name of their 26-man squad on Friday, which featured some surprise members and some controversial omissions, but have since added more squads to enhance their training camp.
Nwaneri’s playing time was so limited that he opted to leave Arsenal in January, joining Marseille on loan. The winger was part of the Under-21 squad that lifted Euro glory last summer.
Also included are Fulham’s Josh King, Liverpool’s Rio Ngmoha and Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott. He is believed to have a chance of making it into the 26-man squad and Tuchel admits he was in contention.
The England manager said: “We’re going to take some young players out to train with us to suit the size of the squad we need, and we’re going to play two friendlies to take into account the game time and the workload on the players.
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“I’m happy for these players, especially Alex, who was on the (long) list of 55 (26-man World Cup squad). Obviously he wasn’t in the first selection, but his reaction was great and his commitment and desire to come into pre-camp and get closer to the team was not even a question for him.”
The Three Lions will play New Zealand on June 6th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, before taking on Costa Rica on June 10th at Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium. Seven days later, the World Cup officially begins with a match against Croatia, the team from which they were eliminated in the semi-finals eight years ago.
Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri joined Marseille in January in search of more playing time (Image: Franco Arland/Getty Images)
The matches against Ghana and Panama will be the final group games, with England expected to finish top of the table as they look to finally end their wait for tournament glory after losing in the final twice since 2021.
Tuchel opted to keep Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home. He selected players such as Ivan Toney, Jed Spence and Dan Byrne, who were never guaranteed to be selected, but the German has sought to justify his decision.
“I think we’ve been very clear from day one that we’re trying to select and build the best team possible. It’s not necessarily about selecting and putting together the most talented 26 players, it’s about a team winning a championship, that’s a no-brainer.”
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