Bellingham, Foden left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad

England Manager Thomas Tuchel has omitted Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden from his 26-player squad for the October international fixtures against Wales and Latvia, despite Bellingham returning from a shoulder injury.

Bellingham made his first appearance of the season in September after recovering from shoulder surgery and has featured in Real Madrid’s last four matches, but started only once.

The England team manager has recalled Bukayo Saka while excluding Foden and Jack Grealish, both of whom have shown improved club form.

The 52-year-old stressed the value of continuity from last month's camp by explaining his decision.

"We reached a new level and new standards in the last camp," Tuchel said.

He clarified his stance by pointing to England’s performance against Serbia as evidence of the progress made and challenged his players to maintain those levels.

"It was clearly visible in the match against Serbia. Why not pick the same players and squad if they are available? They have to prove the point again. They set the standard and now they have to make sure the standards become more stable. This is the chance they have," he added.

In defence, Jarell Quansah replaces the injured Tino Livramento, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek is included in the squad from the outside after being used as a replacement last month; however, midfielder Adam Wharton, who is available again, was not selected.

England will host Wales at Wembley on 9 October before travelling to face Latvia on 14 October. Victory in Riga, combined with Serbia dropping points, could confirm England’s place at next summer’s World Cup.

England squad:

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City).

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City).

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa).