Adam Wharton is still waiting for a first senior England call-up. As of this update on 28 September 2026, Crystal Palace’s midfielder remains outside Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the current international window, and the Palace squad has no representative in England’s camp at all. The adam wharton england squad question has an answer readers won’t like: not yet, and not for want of trying.
Adam Wharton left out as England squad announced
Thomas Tuchel named his England squad for four Nations League fixtures without Wharton’s name on the list. It leaves Crystal Palace without a single player involved in the camp, a notable gap given the club’s strong start to the season.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson also misses out, but for a different reason. His absence is down to injury rather than form, and Palace fans should not read anything into his omission beyond that fitness issue.
Tuchel instead recalled Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer, two players who had fallen out of his selection picture earlier in the year. “They had a good start to the season,” Tuchel said of the pair.
Tuchel explains midfield choices and recall decisions
Tuchel was clear that neither Alexander-Arnold nor Palmer had done anything wrong when they were previously overlooked. “They never did something wrong. We just chose different players,” he said, framing the recalls as a response to changing form rather than past mistakes.
On Palmer specifically, Tuchel pointed to a return of goals and assists at Chelsea this season. “Cole has his starts that he always had but he has his numbers back – he has his assists back, he has decisive goals back – so that is why he is in the squad,” he explained. Palmer has scored four goals and added two assists in six Chelsea appearances this term, having last featured for England in a 1-0 defeat to Japan in March.
Tuchel was equally blunt about what comes next for Palmer. “It is one thing to be nominated, like with Cole, and getting your ticket back in the squad but it’s another thing to perform for England,” he said. “Cole needs to step up when he comes and he needs to show these kind of numbers to get his place, keep his shirt and justify the nomination.”
Alexander-Arnold returns having last played for England against Andorra back in June 2025. He has made five appearances for Real Madrid this season, including a spell in central midfield during their Champions League win over Inter Milan, and Tuchel confirmed his role for England remains at right-back. “He had a good start in two positions for Real Madrid and he comes as a right-back for us,” Tuchel said.
Asked what the defender needs to do to stay involved, Tuchel didn’t dress it up. “[He needs to] perform, that’s just what it is. It is a competition and I understand the question because he was not with us at the World Cup. We trusted other players,” he said. He added: “I still stick with this decision and it is now time to fight for his place. He always said he is up for a fight, he always said he is up to fight for his place – especially for England – so it is on him to prove and he is more than welcome in camp.”
Tuchel also left out Phil Foden, Harry Maguire and Morgan Gibbs-White, while Jordan Henderson, Reece James, Djed Spence and John Stones were all unavailable through injury.
Why is Adam Wharton missing from the England squad?
Wharton misses out simply because Tuchel picked other midfield options ahead of him for this camp, not because of injury or any disciplinary issue. Competition for England places in central midfield remains intense, and Tuchel’s comments about Alexander-Arnold apply just as well to Wharton’s situation. “I think he has a point to prove, and the same goes for Trent. He was never off the list. He was never non-selectable for us, and it is his chance to show, come to camp and be the best version of himself,” Tuchel said.
Wharton has continued to perform for Crystal Palace regardless of his international standing, and the club’s form this season, detailed in our earlier report on the current squad, hasn’t been enough to force his way into Tuchel’s thinking this time. The manager’s message is that selection is fluid rather than closed, but nothing in the evidence suggests Wharton has been told anything different to what Alexander-Arnold and Palmer heard before their own recalls.
What happens next
This block of fixtures gives Tuchel’s recalled players the chance to nail down their places, and it will show whether the adam wharton england squad debate shifts back in Wharton’s favour. England’s Nations League programme opened with Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September, and continues with the Czech Republic away on Tuesday, 29 September.
A trip to Croatia follows on Saturday, 3 October, with a final fixture at home to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, 6 October. “We have a long camp and I am sure he will show up,” Tuchel said of Alexander-Arnold, a sentiment that applies to the wider group of players fighting to hold or reclaim their places.
For Wharton, the path back into contention runs through consistent club performances rather than any single announcement. He addressed his own situation at Palace recently, as covered in Adam Wharton addressing recent transfer reports, and continued form there remains his clearest route back into Tuchel’s plans. Full detail on this squad announcement is available in the original England squad report.
