England booked their place at the 2026 World Cup with plenty of time to spare but time may have run out for one international star to make his case for a place in the squad
Former England captain Wayne Rooney fears there’s no route back into the England fold for Jack Grealish. The Everton loanee was part of the Three Lions squad at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, but narrowly missed out on a Euro 2024 spot and has yet to feature under Thomas Tuchel.
Grealish has impressed since joining Everton on a season-long deal from Manchester City. England are well-stocked in attacking areas, though, as evidenced by Bukayo Saka and Ebere Eze’s goals in Thursday’s 2-0 victory over Serbia.
“Jack Grealish may as well book his holiday for the summer now because he’s not getting in the squad,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “You think Anthony Gordon dropped out [through injury] and he still doesn’t get called into it, so I think Thomas Tuchel is quite set.”
Newcastle winger Gordon was a late withdrawal from Tuchel’s squad, but there was still plenty of quality going forward. Saka, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers started behind striker Harry Kane, with Eze, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden coming on as substitutes.
West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen was an unused substitute and could be called upon against Albania on Sunday. Cole Palmer is also expected to be ahead of Grealish in the queue when he returns from injury, while Noni Madueke has also been called up more recently than the former Aston Villa star.
Everton manager David Moyes indicated he wasn’t concerned after Tuchel’s latest squad didn’t include Grealish. “I get asked about Jack in every press conference,” he said ahead of his team’s victory over Fulham.
“We are pleased with how he is doing and we want him to add to his tally of assists and score a couple of goals more as well – that will help us a lot. Thomas Tuchel picks his England team and he has to decide what he wants. At the moment, Jack is doing really, really well for us.”
England were already assured of a place at the World Cup before beating Serbia, and now have a chance to finish their qualifying campaign with eight wins out of eight and no goals conceded. While the defensive record is enviable, Tuchel also discussed his squad’s attacking options after the most recent win.
“Phil is in good shape and Phil can make any team better in an offensive position,” he said when asked about Foden, who provided the assist for Eze’s clincher. “In a central position that is my belief and my trust – he is all smiles. He is full of confidence and you see it in the first touches and the movement.”
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