Thomas Tuchel has plenty to mull over before naming England squad for qualifiers | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has had plenty to mull over as the England boss prepares to select his first squad since June’s jarring doubleheader.

The road to next summer’s World Cup continues with a home qualifier against Andorra at Villa Park on September 6 before they head to Belgrade for a key clash against Serbia on September 9.

England sit top of Group K after Tuchel followed a pair of Wembley wins in March with June’s victory against 173rd-ranked Andorra in Barcelona, where his side were booed after a lifeless 1-0 triumph.

Three days later the honeymoon period came to a crashing end at the City Ground, where jeers followed the meek 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal – the national team’s first ever loss to African opposition.

Those performances provided plenty of food for thought a year out from the World Cup for Tuchel, who faces the media in a Wembley hotel at 2pm on Friday afternoon after naming his first squad of the season.

Jude Bellingham is set to miss out after the Real Madrid star underwent shoulder surgery following the Club World Cup, while Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is sidelined due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Cole Palmer missed Chelsea’s game at West Ham after pulling up with a groin issue in the warm-up, while Bukayo Saka looks set to miss out with a hamstring injury sustained in Arsenal’s win over Leeds.

Gunners team-mate Ben White missed that game with an injury, meaning his absence stretching back to the 2022 World Cup could continue.

James Maddison’s hopes of an England recall have been scotched by an ACL injury, but there are numerous others hoping to be selected by Tuchel for the first time.

The England boss is a big fan of Jack Grealish and will be tempted to bring him in after his promising start to life on loan at Everton, while John Stones is fit again having last won a cap in October.

Members of England’s triumphant Under-21 Euros squad like Elliot Anderson, Harvey Elliott and Tino Livramento are on Tuchel’s radar, as are fellow talents Adam Wharton and Liam Delap.

Marcus Rashford, Marc Guehi, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden are pushing to be involved after June absences, as are Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount, who won the Champions League under Tuchel at Chelsea.

Tuchel has a call to make on Kyle Walker, who endured a tough time against Senegal and has since joined promoted Burnley.

Jordan Henderson, another 35-year-old, has also moved clubs since June’s doubleheader, having returned to the Premier League and joined Brentford.

Ivan Toney was the surprise selection in June, but the Al-Ahli striker only played a couple of minutes against Senegal and looks unlikely to earn a call-up.