As a football society, we are all mentally preparing for a three week international break. Every national team will play a maximum of four matches, with the September and October windows having been smushed together. Thus, we are all going to need something to talk about, so has Thomas Tuchel given Liverpool fans a reason to pay closer attention to England's matches?
On Friday morning, Tuchel's 26 man squad was revealed, and two players with close Liverpool connections were the main headlines. Firstly, 18 year old Rio Ngumoha was included, somewhat out of left field. The winger made his senior England debut at Raymond James Stadium in June, introduced as a half time substitute during the 1-0 friendly win over New Zealand in Tampa.
Thus, it is clear that Tuchel rates Ngumoha very highly, but it would still be very noteworthy were he to win a competitive senior England cap, despite having never even been called up for the under-21s, seemingly skipping that step. The other headline grabbing inclusion was Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Despite not being first choice at Real Madrid right now, the 27 year old is in line to earn a first international cap since June 2025, coming off the bench against Andorra at Estadi Cornellà-El Prat. With Tino Livramento the other natural right-back included, not counting another former Liverpool man Jarell Quansah, Alexander-Arnold will surely fancy his chances of serious minutes, especially considering Reece James has missed out.
For Ngumoha, he faces plenty of competition for minutes, with Bukayo Saka first choice on the right, while Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers all vying to be selected on the left. Nevertheless, with four matches in just ten days, there will be plenty of minutes to go round.
England's September/October UEFA Nations League fixtures
- Saturday 26 September. Kick off 7:45pm. England vs Spain. Wembley.
- Tuesday 29 September. Kick off 7:45pm. Czech Republic vs England. Fortuna Arena, Prague.
- Saturday 3 October. Kick off 5pm. Croatia vs England. Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka.
- Tuesday 6 October. Kick off 7:45pm. England vs Czech Republic. Wembley.
The Three Lions are back in UEFA Nations League A, having won promotion from the second-tier two years ago. Tuchel's team will be targeting a top two finish to advance to March's Nations League quarter-finals but, with world and European champions Spain in their section, that is far from guaranteed. Considering Liverpool are not in action until 11 October, we all have to pretend to care about international football for a bit, or at least try.
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