Wayne Rooney ‘surprised’ after Thomas Tuchel left ‘excellent’ player out of England squad
Thomas Tuchel named his latest England squad on Friday, and some of his selections were questionable.
Anthony Gordon was picked by the German boss, despite being substituted with an injury during Newcastle’s win over Athletic Bilbao and then missing their defeat to Brentford.
Harvey Barnes, who scored for Newcastle against the Bees, apparently didn’t do enough to warrant a selection after replacing Gordon on Sunday (November 9).
Jude Bellingham unsurprisingly returned to the England squad, and Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott also earned his first call-up, yet there was no place for striker Ollie Watkins.
Wayne Rooney ‘surprised’ at Ollie Watkins’ England omission
Watkins is normally a mainstay in the Three Lions setup, but Tuchel proved he selects players based on form, and that is arguably why the Aston Villa frontman was left out.
The 29-year-old has scored just once in 16 appearances across all competitions and is ultimately struggling to replicate his 2024/25 campaign.
But whilst he can perhaps have no complaints after being omitted from Tuchel’s plans, Watkins was influential during Aston Villa’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth, and Wayne Rooney is shocked that the former Brentford striker wasn’t selected.
“I am slightly surprised Thomas Tuchel has left Ollie Watkins out of the England squad,” Rooney told BBC Sport. “He played very well today, had a few chances and was unlucky not to get a goal. His work rate was excellent.”
The former Manchester United striker was impressed with Watkins’ efforts off the ball, even if he didn’t grab a goal as Emi Buendia, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Donyell Malen bagged the four goals.
Rooney praises Unai Emery
After a slow start to the 2025/26 season, Aston Villa have hit a purple patch, and their hammering of Bournemouth moved them to within one point of fourth-place Sunderland.
Emery’s tactical expertise is a huge reason why the Villans consistently compete towards Europe, and Rooney has offered praise for how the Spaniard juggles the Europa League and Premier League schedule.
“That was really good from Villa today. Unai Emery manages his squad so well with playing in Europe, and he has so much experience of playing Sunday-Thursday. It showed today with the way they came out against Bournemouth so full of energy,” Rooney added.
“Emery’s team are on a brilliant run after their bad start and they are looking like the Villa of last season. That’s down to the experience of the manager. I’ve been very impressed with them in the last two months.”
An international break gives the former Sevilla boss plenty of time to assess their progress ahead of a hectic fixture schedule.