No United player in England squad as Tuchel drops Mainoo and Rashford stays injured

Manchester United have no first-team player in England's squad for November's Nations League games, after Thomas Tuchel left out Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford remained sidelined. Tuchel tied Mainoo's omission partly to United's slump in form, which raises fresh questions about the midfielder's standing with England.

Manchester United have no senior representative in the England squad this month. Thomas Tuchel left out Kobbie Mainoo, and Marcus Rashford is still injured. The FA published the squad on 6 November.

England host Croatia at Wembley at 7.45pm GMT on Thursday 12 November. They then face Spain at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on Sunday 15 November. The international window runs from 9 to 17 November.

England are chasing a place in the quarter-finals, and avoiding defeat against Croatia would be enough to secure it. After four games of League A Group 3, Spain lead with 12 points. England are second on nine, with a goal difference of +11. Croatia have three points and Czechia have none. Harry Kane equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps last window. He could become the outright record holder if he plays.

Mainoo was named in England’s World Cup squad but never played. He then withdrew from the last squad with an unspecified injury. Sky Sports noted he was the only outfield player in that World Cup squad not to play a minute. Tuchel had also promised to make it up to him in this autumn’s Nations League games.

With his England teammates looking on, Mainoo received a public apology from Tuchel over his lack of World Cup minutes. The November squad still does not include him. Tuchel pointed to injury and to United’s results. “He was injured then Man United fell off a cliff a little bit performance-wise,” he said.

United’s league position fits that verdict. Seven points from nine games leaves them in the bottom half of the table. Mainoo’s club form now looks tied to his international prospects.

Others have stepped into the midfield picture. Jobe Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund and Josh King of Fulham earn their first senior call-ups after moving up from the under-21s. Cole Palmer and Phil Foden were also left out. Otherwise, the squad is largely the same as the group Tuchel took into the October break.

Rashford joins Bukayo Saka and Alex Scott on the injured list. His hip problem has kept him out of United’s recent matches. That leaves Carrick with both Mainoo and Rashford at Carrington during the break.

For Mainoo, the fortnight offers a chance to build fitness after only just returning from injury. For Rashford, it is time to recover. Neither will add England minutes to their workload this month.

Sports Mole lists Rashford as out against Aston Villa. His possible return date is 22 November at Liverpool.