Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold recalled by England after being dropped for the World Cup

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Cole Palmer has been called up to the England squad after being controversially omitted from the World Cup.

Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold was also named in Thomas Tuchel squad after being overlooked in the summer.

“They had a good start to the season. they never did something wrong, we just chose different players," the England coach said Friday.

Palmer and Alexander-Arnold were among a host of high-profile absentees from Tuchel's World Cup squad, along with Phil Foden, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. There was still no place Foden, Maguire and Shaw for the upcoming Nations League games.

Liverpool's 18-year-old forward Rio Ngumoha has also been included along with Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.

Palmer’s recall comes after an outstanding start to the season for Chelsea with four goals in six games.

“He has his numbers back, he has his assists back, he has his decisive goals back so that’s why he’s back in the squad and I think he has a point to prove and same goes for Trent,” Tuchel said.

Alexander-Arnold has long-been considered one of English soccer's best talents, but was left out of the World Cup even after right back Tino Livramento was forced to withdraw with injury.

“He was not with us at the World Cup. We trusted other players. I still stick with this decision,” Tuchel said. “It is now time to fight for his place, he always said he was up for a fight. It’s on him to prove.”

Tuchel said he was forced into more changes than expected due to the unavailability of a number of his World Cup players, including John Stones Djed Spence and Jordan Henderson.

“The door is always open first and foremost through performance and then on the same level through behavior and commitment to the team spirit because we built something very special,” he said.

England plays world champion Spain, Croatia and two games against Czech Republic in the first international window of the season.

England came third at the World Cup, its best place since winning the tournament in 1966. But Tuchel was criticized for his handling of the semifinal defeat to Argentina when leading 1-0 up until the 85th minute before losing 2-1.

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England squad:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton), James Trafford (Leeds)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Trevoh Chalobah (Como), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell 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 (Bournemouth)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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