Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fikayo Tomori have both been left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Monday’s UEFA Nations League clash with Germany at Wembley.
The defensive duo were both unused substitutes in Friday’s match against Italy at San Siro, where Giacomo Raspadori’s second-half winner secured a 1-0 win for the European champions.
That result condemned England to relegation from League A Group 3 in the Nations League, meaning that Southgate’s side will be playing in League B during the next cycle.
The Three Lions are still winless after five games of the 2022-23 tournament, and the visit of Germany represents their final competitive match before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
A total of five players were omitted from Southgate’s squad on matchday five, with the suspended John Stones sitting out alongside Jordan Henderson, Ivan Toney, Ben Chilwell and Marc Guehi.
For the clash with Germany, Southgate has recalled each member of the quintet to his matchday squad, but there is no space for Alexander-Arnold or Tomori.
Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold has only played 62 minutes for England since the turn of the year and will miss out on action for his country for the fifth game in a row here.
The 23-year-old has only earned 17 caps for England since making his senior debut in 2018, and he will sit this one out alongside AC Milan centre-back Tomori.
Despite playing a major role in the Rossoneri’s Serie A title triumph last term, Tomori has continued to struggle for international minutes over the likes of Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Conor Coady.
The 24-year-old has just three England caps to his name – the most recent of which came in June’s draw with Italy – and Southgate has dropped him from the squad following Stones’s return from suspension.
While Stones is back from a ban of his own, his Manchester City teammate Jack Grealish picked up his second Nations League booking on Friday night and will be suspended for tonight’s game.
Southgate has also elected to leave out West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen, who has endured a difficult start to the domestic season with the capital club, but Toney makes the cut.
The Brentford man is seeking to win his maiden Three Lions cap this week and was left out of the squad to face Italy, but he will most likely take up a spot on the bench at Wembley before a possible substitute cameo.
Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse has also been cut from the ranks to accommodate the return of Jordan Henderson, who has seemingly fully recovered from a hamstring injury.
England have taken just two points from their first five Nations League games, and only San Marino have also failed to score a non-penalty goal in the 2022-23 tournament.