Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice are among five players who have pulled out of the England squad for the Three Lions’ upcoming Nations League matches.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are in action four times over the extended international break, with their first match against Spain on Saturday.
Kobbie Mainoo, Tino Livramento and Cole Palmer are the other three absentees, with the Chelsea midfielder out for a minor injury.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White has come in, as well as Everton’s James Garner.
Following Spain at the weekend, England face the Czech Republic, then Croatia and the Czechs again at Wembley.
Tuchel was full of praise for several of the Three Lions’ stars who have pulled out of the upcoming fixtures, including Manchester United midfielder Mainoo.
Commenting on the 21-year-old, the German said on Friday: “I expect him to be on the pitch and it’s my duty to get him on the pitch. That was totally on me. He didn’t put a foot wrong during the World Cup.
“He was class in behaviour on the training pitch. There was big competition; we played Reece [James] in central midfield also. Elliot Anderson is amazing for us; Declan Rice is a very unique player.
Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice are among five players who have pulled out of the England squad
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GETTY
“We trusted them more than we trusted Kobbie. It was difficult for him. It was on me.
“He got injured before the France game, so we couldn’t even give him minutes there, which hurt me.
“Maybe he was more hurt than me, but it was my responsibility, and it’s my responsibility to reward him for that.”
Tuchel also credited Gibbs-White despite initially not selecting him, opting to go with Palmer instead.
Thomas Tuchel was full of praise for Kobbie Mainoo, who has pulled out of the squad
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GETTYHe said: “It makes no sense to nominate three, four, five, number 10s. It just does not help anyone.
“We can see the form that Morgan is in, and he ended the season very, very strongly and was the key player for Forest to not be relegated. We can see him stepping up now.
“It is one thing to be nominated, by the way, like with Cole and getting your ticket back in the squad.
James Garner has been called up to the squad
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“But it’s another thing to perform for England, and this also counts.
“So especially also Cole needs to step up when he comes and needs to show these kind of numbers and these kind of performances to get his place, to keep his shirt and to justify the nomination.”
England kick off at 7.45pm on Saturday against Spain, whose manager, Luis de la Fuente, has signed a six-year extension after leading the national team to the European Championship and World Cup titles.
