Tuchel reveals Mainoo’s England omission as Jobe Bellingham earns first call-up

Abdullateef Fowewe

England manager, Thomas Tuchel has addressed the decision to leave Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo out of his latest squad, citing a difficult recent period and strong competition in central midfield.

Speaking about Mainoo’s absence on Friday, Tuchel said, “I think Kobbie had a difficult spell now with his team and missed a lot of matches.

“In the meantime, it was Jobe who impressed. The door is always open. The door is always open for younger ones to overtake or to make their mark, so that’s just a sign of the competition in central midfield.”

The comments come as Tuchel named his 25-man squad for the UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain.

Mainoo was among several high-profile omissions, which also included Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

In their place, Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham younger brother of Jude Bellingham and Fulham’s Josh King received their first senior England call-ups.

Mainoo had been part of England’s World Cup squad earlier but did not feature.

He was also selected for previous international windows before withdrawing due to injury.

He has since returned to action for Manchester United, featuring against Chelsea and Roma.

England host Croatia on 12 November before travelling to face Spain on 15 November.