Thomas Tuchel explains why Arsenal star handed shock England snub

Tuchel left Arsenal winger Madueke out of the England squad for Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, citing trust in the existing group despite Madueke's recent form.

Thomas Tuchel has explained his decision to omit Arsenal winger Noni Madueke from England's latest squad for Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain. Despite being a trusted player at the World Cup in summer, Madueke was left out on Friday.

Madueke had increased his playing time for Arsenal following Bukayo Saka's quad injury and scored important goals against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League and Slavia Prague in the Champions League. However, Tuchel opted to stick with the group from the previous international break. "It was a close call and a difficult decision not to bring Noni, because he got his minutes after Bukayo's injury at Arsenal," Tuchel said at a press conference at Wembley. "He got some goals. It was very close. But also [in that position], we stuck with the group that we had [during the last international break] and give them our trust."

Five Arsenal players were included in the squad: Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White and Eberechi Eze. White, who was unavailable for the last camp due to injury, was recalled despite being booed by some England fans during March friendlies. Tuchel defended the decision, saying the boos should now be "a closed book" and praising White's quality and commitment.