Gibbs-White tells Tuchel he deserves England call-up

Nottingham Forest player Morgan Gibbs-White has told new England boss Thomas Tuchel that he deserved to be included in the squad announced in recent days.

Gibbs-White’s omission from the England squad has come as a surprise to some, given his key role in helping Forest finish third in the Premier League behind Liverpool and Arsenal this season, with five goals and seven assists in 25 appearances.

“Obviously I’m upset. Yeah, a bit disappointed,” Gibbs-White told the BBC on Wednesday.

“I said to him something like ‘I feel like I’ve done enough to get the call up, given the level of performances we’ve had, but obviously you’re the manager, you make the decisions and I totally respect that’,” he added.

Gibbs-White has already made two appearances for the Three Lions under interim manager Lee Carsley, against Ireland and Greece in the 2024 UEFA Nations League B.

“He (Tuchel) called me and said, ‘Are you still angry with me or do you want to come and train with us tomorrow?” the 25-year-old said.

“Obviously there was no question. I said I definitely wanted to come and train with the boys, so yeah, I found out on Sunday afternoon and I just had a big smile on my face,” he added.

Despite his disappointment at Tuchel’s decision, Gibbs-White praised the former Chelsea boss for his efforts in speaking to the players before they met for the first time at England’s St George’s Park training base this week.

“I think that was the best thing about him, it was great that he started that relationship before he even met us, which was great,” he said.

The Three Lions play two 2026 World Cup qualifiers at Wembley Stadium this month. They face Albania on Saturday (IST 22/3) and Latvia on Tuesday (IST 25/3).