Milan defender Fikayo Tomori and Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah are left out of the England squad to face Italy tonight, as the centre-back struggles to convince Gareth Southgate.
They both featured in Friday’s friendly victory over Australia, but after disappointing performances, will not even have a spot on the bench tonight at Wembley for the EURO 2024 qualifier.
There are no injuries involved, so Tomori has again failed to do enough to convince manager Southgate that he belongs in the squad.
It might seem a surprise to Serie A supporters who see Tomori week in, week out playing for Milan as one of their most reliable defenders.
Many England fans are also unsure why Tomori continues to be snubbed when Southgate keeps faith with Harry Maguire, who is dropped to the bench even at club level by Manchester United and was booed off the field during his most recent appearance against Scotland.
Maguire has just four competitive appearances for Manchester United this season, starting only once in the Premier League.
Tomori is 25 years old, but only has four senior caps for England to his name, despite joining Milan from Chelsea in January 2021.
His only two starts were in the 0-0 Nations League draw with Italy in June 2022 and Friday’s 1-0 friendly win against Australia, where he played for just 62 minutes.
I’m surprised he’s convinced Pioli
I’ll be surprised if you’ve ever seen him play.