England's outsiders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Morgan Gibbs-White & 10 players who could still squeeze into Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad - ranked

Angel Gomes' return to the Premier League from Ligue 1 after five-and-a-half years in France was surely designed to boost his chances of breaking back into the England squad, but his January move to Wolves from Marseille hasn't gone to plan. He has become little more than a bit-part player for Rob Edwards' already-relegated side and will be at a crossroads in the summer.

The midfielder is yet to be called up by Tuchel, with his last cap coming during Lee Carsley's experimental spell as interim England head coach following Sir Gareth Southgate's resignation in the wake of Euro 2024. It would take a miracle or an injury crisis for the ages for him to snag a seat on board the plane to North America.

A player whose international career has never really got going, Curtis Jones may soon have to ask himself whether he needs to leave Liverpool to show his undoubted quality on a more consistent basis. The midfielder has blown hot and cold once again in 2025-26, failing to make himself a key cog in the Reds' engine room.

The 25-year-old still hasn't scored a Premier League goal this season, laying on just two more - not really good enough for a player of his creative capabilities. That is surely a big reason why he hasn't been recalled by England since the shock friendly defeat to Senegal in June 2025. Jones had notably been picked for Tuchel's first-ever Three Lions camp.

Having romantically earned a first international call-up for seven years back in September, Ruben Loftus-Cheek might have thought he was right back in the England picture. However, he was subsequently overlooked in November and hasn't had a look in since.

The 30-year-old hasn't exactly been pulling up trees for AC Milan, with an untimely broken jaw putting paid to an uptick of form back in February and leaving him on the fringes of the Rossoneri's starting line-up as the season ticks down. There's very little chance he'll be heading to North America.

Ivan Toney's form in Saudi Arabia this season has been difficult to ignore, but to date that hasn't stopped Tuchel doing exactly that. Another player who hasn't played for his country since the dire friendly loss to Senegal almost a year ago, the ex-Brentford man's goal-scoring exploits for Al-Ahli are yet to convince the German tactician that he is deserving of a recall.

The striker is closing on on a ridiculous 40 strikes in all competitions in the Gulf State, laying on 10 more to boot, and he would bring tournament know-how having acted as a handy weapon off the bench at Euro 2024. However, the current England boss simply doesn't seem to fancy Toney, even if he is by far and away the nation's second-most in-form striker, behind only Bayern Munich's Harry Kane.

The player on this list who generates by far the most intense debate, the jury is still out on Trent Alexander-Arnold as the clock ticks down to the World Cup. Having struggled initially following his transfer to Real Madrid last summer, the right-back has just started to look at home in his daunting new surroundings, picking up three league assists in the space of six appearances after returning from an injury in February.

However, despite some passing mastery, his defensive deficiencies have continued to be exploited in Spain and he remains unfancied by Tuchel as a result - notably even missing out on the bumper 35-man squad he named in March in a clear sign that the German is prepared to leave the former Liverpool man at home for the tournament. It is remarkably approaching one year since the 27-year-old collected his last cap for his country.

Like Gomes, Conor Gallagher returned to the Premier League in January in the hope of working his way back into the England setup after a lengthy absence from the squad. But instead of being able to enjoy his football and show what he's all about, he's found himself embroiled in an unexpected relegation dogfight with Tottenham.

The midfielder had seemed somewhat lost amid the chaos as he tried to find his feet back in English football, but Roberto De Zerbi's arrival in the dugout might just change Gallagher's fortunes at the very last minute. The tireless, tenacious match-winning performance against Aston Villa recently was Gallagher at his very best, and he may well have made Tuchel sit up and take notice.

It's difficult to gauge Chalobah's standing in Tuchel's thinking; the Chelsea centre-back earned a first-ever England call-up from the German last summer, before being left out in September and October and returning in the November international break, albeit without getting onto the pitch.

Perhaps crucially, an ankle injury ruled him out of contention for selection in March and he has since been part of the Blues' historically bad downturn in form, as they drift towards mid-table. That may very well count against him as the manager prepares to finalise his squad for the fast-approaching tournament. If others like Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Harry Maguire and John Stones are fit, Chalobah is surely well down the pecking order.

The scorer of the very first goal of Tuchel's England tenure? Myles Lewis-Skelly. However, the Arsenal man has work to do if he wants his international career to amount to anything more than the answer to a future pub quiz question. He was regularly called upon by the German tactician initially but, after being warned about his lack of game time at club level earlier this season, he lost his place and is yet to regain it.

Still just 19, the versatile midfielder-turned-left-back undoubtedly has elite potential, and he has seen increased minutes of late as Mikel Arteta juggles injuries amid the intensity of the title tussle with Manchester City and pursuit of the Champions League, impressing against both Fulham and Atletico Madrid over the past week. Lewis-Skelly is a player Tuchel has gushed about in the past, and he has a chance of making a late run onto the plane.

A man who can count himself very unlucky to have been overlooked in the March international break, Alex Scott will surely still be at the forefront of the manager's thinking as he finalises his plans for England's midfield in North America. The Bournemouth man was deservedly handed a first senior call-up in November but didn't get onto the pitch. However, he has continued to impress with his all-action displays at club level.

Much will depend on which other midfielders Tuchel opts to take to the World Cup, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Jordan Henderson, Elliot Anderson and James Garner all vying for spots. You could argue that Scott brings a different skillset as a deep-lying playmaker who can also operate box to box. Could he be the ideal alternative to Real Madrid star Bellingham?

Morgan Gibbs-White will have the out-of-sorts Phil Foden and Cole Palmer quaking in their boots as he pushes them all the way for a place on board the plane to the World Cup. The Nottingham Forest talisman has been in scintillating form since the turn of the year and seems primed to nab one of the coveted No.10 slots in Tuchel's squad at the very death.

The 26-year-old is the Premier League's second-highest goal-scorer so far in 2026 with 10, thriving in a more advanced, free role under Vitor Pereira as those efforts contribute significantly to the Garibaldi's near-complete survival bid. Seven of those strikes have come since the start of March, and Gibbs-White looks certain to be at the centre of one of the manager's biggest selection calls in a few weeks' time.

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