Jobe Bellingham Gets First England Call-Up as Tuchel Leaves Palmer Out

Thomas Tuchel named his England squad on Friday for the last Nations League games of the year, handing a first senior call-up to Jobe Bellingham and leaving Cole Palmer out again.

England host Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, November 12, then travel to Madrid to face Spain on Sunday, November 15. England sit second in their group and need one point from the two games to reach the quarter-finals.

Two brothers in one squad

Jobe Bellingham, 21, plays in midfield for Borussia Dortmund and is the younger brother of Jude Bellingham, who is also in the squad. He gets his first senior call-up after a strong start to the season in Germany. Fulham midfielder Josh King is also called up for the first time.

Palmer and Foden left out

The biggest calls were the players left at home. Cole Palmer is fit and playing for Chelsea, but Tuchel left him out, and Palmer will end 2026 with only two England appearances, both in March. Phil Foden was omitted again, after missing the World Cup and falling out of favour with the manager. Arsenal winger Noni Madueke also misses out.

Tuchel had criticised Palmer after the Chelsea player withdrew from the September and October squad through injury. Palmer is now available, and the manager still did not pick him.

White returns, Saka is out

Arsenal defender Ben White returns for the first time since March, after missing the World Cup and the autumn squad through injury. Bukayo Saka is sidelined with a quad injury, which opened space in the attacking places.

The squad in full

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jason Steele, James Trafford. Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Djed Spence, Ben White, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall. Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Jobe Bellingham, Myles Lewis-Skelly, James Garner, Declan Rice, Josh King, Morgan Gibbs-White. Forwards: Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers, Rio Ngumoha.

Captain Harry Kane leads the forward line, with 18-year-old Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha keeping his senior place. Ngumoha is the only Liverpool player in the squad.

England beat Croatia heavily earlier in the group and lost a close game to Spain at Wembley. A draw in either of the last two games is enough to put Tuchel's side into the quarter-finals in the spring.