Phil Foden and Cole Palmer will miss out on England's World Cup squad, according to BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel will name his final 26-man squad Friday. Manchester United's Luke Shaw, Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, Chelsea's Levi Colwill, and AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori are also expected to be left out, Mokbel adds.
Al-Ahli's Ivan Toney, who's made just one brief substitute appearance for England since Euro 2024, is a surprise inclusion, according to The Telegraph's Mike McGrath, Matt Law, and Jason Burt. He will join Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins as England's strikers at the tournament, Mokbel reports.
Shaw's club teammate Harry Maguire, meanwhile, has already acknowledged his own omission from the squad on Instagram, describing himself as "shocked and gutted by the decision."
Tuchel started making calls to players who didn't make the cut Thursday, per Agence France-Presse.
Foden was the only player to start both of England's friendlies during the March international window. However, he's struggled to perform for his country, recording four goals in 49 caps since his debut in 2020. He's started just two Premier League matches for Manchester City since mid-February.
"He tried everything. I would say he was excellent in camp, but he struggles to show it on the pitch," Tuchel said of Foden's performances against Uruguay and Japan in March, as quoted by ESPN.
He added, "I thought he will just surprise us and will play with the same verve and excitement, but he struggles to have the full impact."
Like Foden, Palmer is another versatile attacker who's endured a difficult season with his club. He's scored nine goals and provided a single assist over 25 Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season, and he hasn't scored for England since equalizing in the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The exclusion of Shaw, who was reportedly named in the provisional 55-man squad, appears to be down to Tuchel preferring that Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly and Newcastle United's Dan Burn travel to North America, according to Mokbel.
The omissions of Maguire, Colwill, and Tomori could pave the way for John Stones to be included in the World Cup squad. The outgoing Manchester City defender has been plagued with injury issues, but the England boss appears to consider him a key figure for the Three Lions.
Noni Madueke and Jordan Henderson are expected to be named in the squad, Mokbel reports. Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo and Newcastle's Tino Livramento have been selected for the tournament as well, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein and Seb Stafford-Bloor.
