James Garner has received his first major England national team call-up for the upcoming international break.
The Everton midfielder made it to Thomas Tuchel’s 35-man Three Lions side on the back of his fantastic 2025-26 campaign with the Blues. He’s been consistently good under David Moyes and will now join Toffees teammate Jordan Pickford in the England camp.
The Three Lions are set to face Uruguay and Japan later this month in their final friendlies before the summer’s World Cup in North America.
"A bit of an underrated player. He plays several positions. I've been impressed, watching him live, by his work rate and physicality. He is a fantastic team-mate and does a lot to help those around him," Thomas Tuchel said about Garner.
"He can run a lot and takes set pieces. Good strike and clean passing. I want to see what he is capable of."
England will host Uruguay and Japan at Wembley Stadium on March 27 and 31, respectively.
Garner represented England throughout youth levels, and was part of the Under-21s side that won the Euros in 2023.
Pickford, meanwhile, will be looking to add to his 81 international caps.
Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo make their return to the national team setup while AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori has also earned a recall.
Brighton's back-up goalkeeper Jason Steele, who is uncapped and has not played in the Premier League since August 2024, has been named in the squad for the first time as well while Trent Alexander-Arnold has been omitted.
//
Reader Comments (30)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()
2 Posted 20/03/2026 at 10:40:16
3 Posted 20/03/2026 at 10:50:43
Stones has hardly played a game for Man City this season, and he's in the squad… what about Branthwaite?
4 Posted 20/03/2026 at 10:51:36
5 Posted 20/03/2026 at 10:56:56
6 Posted 20/03/2026 at 11:03:32
But will he get to play in a squad of 35? Or just be a bench warmer?
7 Posted 20/03/2026 at 11:15:19
The below are all being rested for the first game:
Dean Henderson
Dan Burn
Marc Guehi
Ezri Konsa
Nico O'Reilly
Elliott Anderson
Declan Rice
Morgan Rogers
Anthony Gordon
Harry Kane
Bukayo Saka
8 Posted 20/03/2026 at 11:17:44
Mind you, I’m surprised Dewsbury-Hall wasn't given a shout considering some of the halfwits he's named in midfield!
Henderson, Mainoo, for fuck’s sake!
9 Posted 20/03/2026 at 11:32:52
Some of them midfield picks are a joke.
10 Posted 20/03/2026 at 11:40:59
And the persistence with Henderson is beyond a joke now.
11 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:08:55
It would be a pity for us though if he got injured as he's our right-back back-up to O'Brien.
12 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:11:45
And a goalkeeper who hasn't played a league game all season.
No Alexander-Arnold though.
13 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:18:01
But where is Dewsbury-Hall???
14 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:25:26
Sooner we get a right-back, the better to allow him to play his natural position.
I would use Anderson as a yardstick; James has outshone him in both games this season.
15 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:34:03
Alex Scott, who missed out, is another.
16 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:35:26
17 Posted 20/03/2026 at 12:43:50
Credit to Tuchel. I didn't see him doing this and I offer an apology, even though he is ex-Chelsea.
18 Posted 20/03/2026 at 13:12:19
But they're another couple of players that I'd love to see in a blue shirt.
19 Posted 20/03/2026 at 14:18:58
Does Arnold get a game for Real Madrid?
20 Posted 20/03/2026 at 15:32:57
Injuries happen, as well as loss of form, so he has a chance, Alan Harper of the England squad.
21 Posted 20/03/2026 at 15:46:44
How does he include Jordan Henderson and Spence along with a few others who are out of form?
22 Posted 20/03/2026 at 17:25:57
Good luck, James.
23 Posted 20/03/2026 at 19:11:14
Stick with us for good times ahead, we hope.
24 Posted 20/03/2026 at 20:07:31
Garner fully deserves his call-up and I can see quite a few clubs chasing him in the summer alongside Wharton, Anderson, and Scott at Bournemouth.
25 Posted 20/03/2026 at 20:41:38
26 Posted 20/03/2026 at 21:32:29
27 Posted 21/03/2026 at 02:13:19
Play him in midfield against Chelsea.
28 Posted 21/03/2026 at 14:38:56
We played Forrest and beat twice and he totally outshone Gibbs White and Anderson, additionally did the same thing against Wharton against Palace.
I think once Tutchel sees him in training he will see how good he really is alongside competitors for squad places.
He is a real talent, good passer, set pieces, quick versatile and can run all day, such an attribute for this World Cup
29 Posted 21/03/2026 at 15:41:46
Sure he's still recovering from a very bad injury but the World Cup is still some way away and the options on the left of England's defence are not huge. Maybe we have said he is still not 100% and Tuchel will come back for him.
The options in Dewsbury-Hall's position make it a bit more understandable why he hasn't made it. The fact Calvert-Lewin has shows how woeful the options are in that position.
30 Posted 24/03/2026 at 19:12:27
But selfishly, as an Evertonian, I hope he doesn't go because I don't think he has missed one minute playing for Everton this season and he will need a good rest to start again for us next season instead of travelling all over America, Canada and Mexico.
James though will revel playing in that competition, so I won't begrudge him that opportunity.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.
How to get rid of these ads and support TW
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 20/03/2026 at 10:17:37