England: Thomas Tuchel explains Dominic Solanke and Adam Wharton snubs for latest squad
Thomas Tuchel has explained why he left Dominic Solanke and Adam Wharton out of the England squad.
Solanke and Wharton were omitted from Tuchel's 26-man squad when the England manager named it on Friday morning.
England face Andorra in Barcelona in a World Cup qualifier on June 7, before hosting Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on June 10.
Solanke was on the bench for Tuchel's first two matches in charge against Albania and Latvia in March but was left out of the squad this time as Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins and the returning Ivan Toney were selected instead as the three strikers.
In midfield, Crystal Palace's FA Cup winner Wharton was left out and instead named in the England Under-21 squad, with Tuchel intending for him to join Lee Carsley's squad for this summer's U21 Euros in Slovakia.
I had a call with Solanke, who deserved to be with us, has won a major title with Tottenham and was a major player for them
Thomas Tuchel
'We decided to nominate three No9s, three strikers, with Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins [and Ivan Toney],' Tuchel said of the striker situation.
'I had a call with Dom Solanke, of course, who deserved to be with us, has won a major title with Tottenham and was a major player for them. But he was in camp already. I have a clear picture of what Dom can bring to this group and what he did.
'Now is still the moment to see new players, get a feeling for them and see them within the group. And because Ollie and Ivan were both not with us [in March], that is basically the decision.'
Wharton, whose only senior cap came in a pre-Euro 2024 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last June, also had his absence from the senior squad explained by the England head coach.
'We made Adam train with us in the last camp, when he was with the Under-21s,' Tuchel said. 'He trained with us and was very, very good. At the moment, he has a little injury problem: a concussion protocol still from the [FA Cup] final.
'Together with Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Elliott Anderson and Liam Delap — all names that could play a role for us — a major tournament is coming up with the Under-21s, and the intention is that they play a major role in this tournament.
'It is important. I like it a lot that they have the chance to be leaders in this group, to be players Lee [Carsley] hopefully relies on and will rely on, and we will monitor this very, very closely. For these players, the intention is that they take the responsibility for the Under-21s.
'It is the last chance for most of them to be picked in the U21s. From September, they fight for a place in the national team and they fight against big, big players. I think they will embrace it, to now play a Euros with the U21s, and that's what we want for them: to take responsibility. This will play a big part in their development; I am absolutely convinced.'
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