Arsenal defender Ben White and Newcastle United's Harvey Barnes join Thomas Tuchel's England squad as injured Eberechi Eze and Jarell Quansah drop out
Updated 23/03/2026 at 16:38 GMT
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Thomas Tuchel has added two new faces to his 35-man England squad ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March. Arsenal defender Ben White returns to the England set-up for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Harvey Barnes has also been rewarded for his form for Newcastle United this season. Eberechi Eze and Jarell Quansah have dropped out due to injury.
Eze SCREAMER puts Arsenal ahead
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Ben White and Harvey Barnes have been added to Thomas Tuchel's England squad in place of the injured Eberechi Eze and Jarell Quansah.
White will report for international duty for the first time since the FIFA World Cup in 2022, when he controversially left Gareth Southgate's camp after a rumoured falling out with assistant coach Steve Holland.
Barnes has only been capped once by England in 2020 and had attracted interest from Scotland ahead of the 2026 World Cup, but has seemingly made his allegiances clear as he joins ahead of The Three Lions' fixtures in March.
White's Arsenal team-mate Eze, who picked up an injury in The Gunners' 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League and subsequently missed their Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City, has been sidelined and will not be a part of the squad.
Eze scored a rocket against Quansah's Leverkusen but picked up a calf injury as Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals.
Former Liverpool defender Quansah has pulled out alongside the midfielder despite playing 90 minutes in a 3-3 draw against FC Heidenheim on Saturday.
England host Uruguay on Friday and Japan in friendlies on Tuesday, March 31 - both at Wembley - as Tuchel makes his final preparations ahead of the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer.
White's addition has come somewhat as a surprise, considering his relationship with the national team over recent years.
The 28-year-old has won four caps in total - against Austria, Romania, Switzerland and Ivory Coast - after making his debut in 2021, a month before his move to Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion.
But after he left the World Cup squad early in 2022 and reportedly made himself unavailable for selection for the remainder of Southgate's tenure, his England career looked all but over.
However, it is understood that he made himself available again after talks with Tuchel, and he has finally returned to the 35-man squad after almost four years out of the picture.
His inclusion is even more surprising considering Trent Alexander-Arnold was left out of the squad, with the Real Madrid right-back seemingly far down Tuchel's pecking order.
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As for Barnes, his only cap came against Wales six years ago, but 14 goals and five assists in all competitions for Newcastle this season have seen him rewarded with a call-up.
After their international fixtures in March, England will play two more friendlies, against New Zealand and Costa Rica in June, before they begin their World Cup campaign.
They will open against Croatia in Group L, before games against Ghana and Panama.
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