Arsenal youngster given late call-up to England camp for World Cup in surprise move

Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri has been given a late call-up to join England's World Cup squad.

The 19-year-old will set off to the USA with the Three Lions for their preparation camp before the World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel brought in the youngster, who has spent the second half of the season on loan at Ligue 1 side Marseille.

The 19-year-old will join other youth players making their name in English football, including Bournemouth's Alex Scott, Fulham's Josh King and Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

Scott, King and Ngumoha's participation was confirmed on Friday as the German announced his 26-man squad for the finals.

England's official account confirmed the news, saying: "Ethan Nwaneri will join our Three Lions preparation camp in Florida ahead of the FIFA World Cup."

The teenager made a dozen senior appearances for the Gunners this season before heading over to France.

The England squad is due to meet up in Palm Beach on June 1, excluding those involved in the Champions League and Conference League finals.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS

• Bruno Fernandes named Premier League Player of the Season after stunning campaign with Red Devils
• Thomas Tuchel tells dropped England stars 'teams win World Cups': 'My players are not selfish'
• Southampton stars consider terminating contracts amid 'spygate' furore

Tuchel's men will play a couple of games before moving to their tournament base in Kansas City on June 13.

They will face New Zealand in Tampa and Costa Rica in Orlando in preparation for their group-stage games.

England kick off their tournament against Croatia on June 17, then face Ghana six days later and Panama on June 27.

Tuchel named his squad yesterday, with some surprise call-ups and notable absentees.

The goalkeeping options are: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) and James Trafford (Manchester City).

In defence: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Reece James (Chelsea), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), and Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur).

Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and Eberechi Eze (Arsenal).

Attackers: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona) and Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United).

England skipper Harry Kane is optimistic heading into the tournament, believing that the squad "is as good as we've ever had".

He said: "I think when you look at the starting 11, you look at the players coming off the bench, we're going into the tournament as one of the favourites.

"We've been building together as a team over the past few camps under Thomas.

"I think we've set the standard, and now we look forward to continuing this into the World Cup next month. There's always something special about playing at the World Cup."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter