Tuchel: 'The competition is on'

England men’s senior team head coach Thomas Tuchel reacted to today’s squad announcement after the Three Lions boss named his players for his third camp next month.

There is a first senior call-up for Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence. The defender made 35 appearances across all competitions for the North London club last season with three games under his belt so far this season, including the UEFA Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain.

And the 25-year-old has also represented England at development level, clocking six appearances for the under-21s.

“He had a very good end to the season with Tottenham and a very impressive start to the season,” explained Tuchel.

“He was impressively good against Paris in the European Super Cup final. He came up against a lot of quality on his side, against a lot of speed and handled it impressively well and kept on going with Tottenham in the Premier League starts.

“He can play both sides, he plays very intense, he’s in shape and he deserved to be called up.”

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson could also make his debut for the Three Lions, with the England boss opting to include the midfielder in his latest squad for the upcoming games against Andorra and Serbia.

Anderson was part of Lee Carsley’s EURO-winning MU21s side who were crowned back-to-back European champions this summer, with the 22-year-old named in the Team of the Tournament in recognition of his performances.

“Elliot Anderson is very physical, a lot of volume, very precise, clean passing, so it’s a good package,” said Tuchel. “Elliot was a key player in the tournament, pressed a lot in central midfield and a regular player for Nottingham Forest – they had a fantastic season.

“The end of the season, he had the title with the under-21s and the start to the season and he’s excited to come and join us and I hope he can make his mark.

“Tino Livramento is also with us based on these observations because they had a fantastic tournament.”

The Three Lions will lock horns with Serbia at Villa Park first up on Saturday 6 September (5pm BST kick-off), with England returning to the West Midlands venue for the first time since 2005 and it’s a game the England boss is relishing.

“I love Villa Park,” commented Tuchel. “It’s a change to the routine to be at our home in Wembley but Villa Park is known to be one of the most emotional and loudest stadiums in the country, so I hope we can get this going.”

“We have a lot to improve. We have two qualifiers ahead, we want to win both and that’s what we’re going for.”

And Tuchel’s side face Serbia on Tuesday 9 September (7.45pm BST kick-off) to round off the camp in another 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

“The competition is on,” continued Tuchel. “It’s up to the players. We have now the World Cup season and many, many teams in Europe, many competitions to play in, so it’s an exciting year to come.

“You feel the excitement, you feel the target for the players is, of course, to be in the World Cup squad and we have a lot of things to improve.

“We have to qualify – this is the 100 percent focus for us and that’s why we’ll do our very best to get the two victories under our belt.”