Thomas Tuchel announced his England squad for the final round of Nations League fixtures on Friday – and there was no place for Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea star was omitted alongside Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo, but there were first-time call-ups for Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham and Fulham midfielder Josh King.
Trevoh Chalobah, Tino Livramento, Nico O’Reilly, Alex Scott, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka all missed out due to injury.
England host Croatia at Wembley Stadium on 12 November before travelling to Spain to play the world champions at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium on 15 November, with both matches kicking off at 19:45 BST.
Tuchel explains latest selections
Following the squad announcement, Tuchel discussed his selection method with Sky Sports.
“It’s always the ones who are in camp, the ones who don’t withdraw, the ones who walk the talk and come to camp and show it matters and put the quality in – that’s what we will always reward,” he explained.
“I think it’s naturally coming through without needing to talk about it. That was always the message since very early, since we took charge.
“It matters when you’re in camp. It matters what you do in camp. The last camp was an excellent one, so the trust and belief is on the players who were there.”
On Palmer’s omission, the German said: “I guess everyone is desperate to play for England. Cole is no exception.
“It counts when you’re in camp. I said last time, he misses too many opportunities to impress. The players who were in camp built something extraordinary.
“It’s not personal. We’ll never assume Cole isn’t in the mindset to come and play for his country, but the competition is on and the players in the [last] camp did an amazing job.”
England’s Nations League squad
Goalkeepers
Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Leeds United)
Defenders
Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Jarrell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter Milan), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders
Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), James Garner (Everton), Josh King (Fulham), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea)
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SportJustSport writers 
Nicole Powell