2 changes to Arsenal’s England call-ups

Arsenal’s Saka, Rice, Eze and Madueke initially earned England call-ups as part of Tuchel’s World Cup build-up but that has changed in the last three days.

Arsenal will have a strong presence in the England camp this month after four of Mikel Arteta’s players were named in Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad for the international break.

Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Ebere Eze and Noni Madueke were all called up to a 35-man group as England step up their preparations for this summer’s World Cup.

However, after picking up a calf injury in Arsenal’s second leg against Bayer Leverkusen, Eze has been forced to withdraw.

He has been replaced by Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes.

In addition, Ben White has been called up for his first cap since his infamous falling out with Gareth Southgate‘s number two. White has four caps but has not played for his country in almost exactly four years.

He replaces Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah, who has withdrawn due to a ‘knock’.

England, who won all eight of their qualifying fixtures to book their place at the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, will host Uruguay and Japan in warm-up friendlies at Wembley.

Uruguay visit on Friday 27 March at 7.45pm, with Japan following on Tuesday 31 March at the same time, as Tuchel fine-tunes his options before the next round of fixtures in June while other nations continue to fight for qualification.

Saka will reach a significant landmark if he features in both matches, as he stands on the verge of his 50th cap with 14 international goals to his name.

Both Uruguay, under Marcelo Bielsa, and Japan, coached by Hajime Moriyasu, have also secured their places at the World Cup in North America.

• Eberechi Eze has pulled out of the England squad for the March internationals, with further assessments to come on his calf injury.

• Kai Havertz has received his first Germany call-up since November 2024, giving him the chance to return to his national team ahead of the World Cup.

• William Saliba has officially withdrawn from the March internationals, with France confirming that he needs a 10-day rest period to treat an ankle injury.

• Martin Odegaard has been left out of Norway’s squad for the upcoming international break, in mixed news for Arsenal fans ahead of the League Cup final.

• Thomas Tuchel explains why Max Dowman misses England’s latest squad despite Everton heroics, and what that means for the teenager’s World Cup prospects.

England squad:

Goalkeepers

Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle United), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders

Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)

Midfielders

Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)

Forwards

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Ebere Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur)