Jamie Carragher has named two England players who haven’t ‘done enough’ to earn a starting spot under Thomas Tuchel.
The Three Lions have two World Cup qualifying matches this week as they host Serbia tonight before an away game against Albania on Sunday.
Tuchel’s latest squad includes three goalkeepers – Everton’s Jordan Pickford, Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson and Newcastle’s Nick Pope.
Pickford has long been England’s No.1 ‘keeper, earning 80 caps and helping the Three Lions reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 in addition to back-to-back finals at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
But Pickford has never played within the Champions League like Pope, while Henderson helped Palace win the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025.
Pickford, though, has rarely put a foot mistaken for his country and Carragher is adamant that the 31-year-old will go on to record over 100 England caps.
‘Pickford is England’s No.1 – it’s not even close,’ Carragher, who’s spearheading the subsequent phase of Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation’s Every Minute Matters campaign, told Metro.
‘The opposite two (Henderson and Pope) haven’t really done enough or are close enough to Pickford. They’ve just got no experience of playing for England because Pickford has been so consistent. I don’t think it’s even a debate.
‘Pickford will recover from 100 caps which is a improbable achievement for any player, especially a goalkeeper.
‘I believe he’s wonderful for at the least one other 18 months in England’s goal.’
Carragher: Scott call-up gives ‘hope’ to players
Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott may very well be set to make his first England appearance after being named within the November squad.
‘I rate him,’ Carragher said. ‘But more importantly, it appears like Tuchel rates him.
‘If you see a call-up like that, I believe it gives hope to a whole lot of players up and down the country who feel they’re not a reputation being championed by the press or pushing to make an England squad.
‘There might be players who now think, ‘Okay, there are people watching my games and me’.
‘Tuchel and his staff are going up and down this country watching games. He left some really big names out of this squad and the last couple of squads.
‘It’s not a given to be chosen in the event you’re an enormous name. It’s who deserves to be within the squad.
‘Anybody has got a possibility in the event that they’re playing well and anyone can exit of the squad even in the event that they think they’re a mainstay. I believe that bodes well for each footballer up and down this country.’
‘Howe must be the subsequent England manager’
Tuchel’s contract as England head coach is currently set to run out after the 2026 World Cup and if the German leaves, Carragher would like to see Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe take over.
Quizzed about Howe, or Coventry City’s Frank Lampard becoming the subsequent England manager, Carragher added: ‘Eddie Howe is the No.1 for me.
‘I wouldn’t be occupied with anyone else. It could be Howe. I do take a look at his situation at Newcastle. Can he take them any further?
‘He’s got them into the Champions League twice, he’s won a trophy, it hasn’t really kicked on from there and it’s tough.
‘You understand, the ownership can’t invest the amount of cash within the team that they’d like. They lost Alexander Isak as well.
‘I believe Howe has done a superb job at Newcastle – but I don’t think he can do any higher there. He’d be the one I’d be pulling all of the stops out to get for England.’
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