Thomas Tuchel leaves Jarrad Branthwaite out of England squad for Spain decider as Dan Burn and James Hill leapfrog Everton defender
Thomas Tuchel has left Jarrad Branthwaite out of England's 23-man matchday squad for Sunday's Nations League decider against Spain in Madrid, with late call-ups Dan Burn and James Hill now seemingly ahead of the Everton defender. James Garner and Josh King have also missed out after Ezri Konsa and Djed Spence returned to fitness for the trip to face the world champions.
Branthwaite, Garner and King miss out for Spain
England travelled to Spain with 26 players, but UEFA rules allow only 23 in a matchday squad for Nations League games, which forced Tuchel to trim his group. The return of Konsa and Spence, who both missed Thursday's 2-1 win over Croatia at Wembley, has increased competition for places in defence.
According to the Daily Mail, Burn and Hill, who were not in the original squad but were added last week, have now jumped above Branthwaite in the pecking order. Branthwaite has made two substitute appearances under Tuchel, totalling 28 minutes.
Tuchel explains his doubts over Branthwaite
There was a clue to Tuchel's doubts before the Croatia game, when he questioned Branthwaite's suitability to England's way of playing. "Jarrad Branthwaite is doing very well but it's a very different style of play for him from Everton towards us," said the head coach.
Tuchel then picked Burn ahead of him against Croatia and explained: "You can see that Dan Burn is straight away a big voice in training and is more used to the style with Newcastle from the last two seasons with Eddie Howe, where they followed in a high press and man-to-man."
Garner denied chance to build on Croatia cameo
Garner replaced Declan Rice in the 77th minute against Croatia and thought he had scored his first England goal, only for VAR to rule it out for offside. He now misses the chance to build on that cameo against the world champions.
King received his first senior call-up after an impressive start to the season with Fulham, but his wait for a debut goes on. Fellow first-time call-ups Jobe Bellingham and Hill are included, as is Ben White, who was booed when he came on against Croatia.
What's next for England in Madrid?
Konsa could come straight back into the starting XI, while James Trafford is set to replace Jordan Pickford in goal, according to BBC Sport.
England sit three points behind Spain in Group A3 but have a superior goal difference, so a win will secure top spot and a quarter-final against a runner-up from another League A group in March.
