Ethan Nwaneri has been added to England’s pre-World Cup training camp in Florida after a mixed spell on loan at Marseille. Thomas Tuchel held back the announcement until Saturday, then confirmed that the Arsenal teenager would join the group alongside other young call-ups. It gives him a late chance to make a mark before the senior players arrive later.
How Tuchel built the camp group
Tuchel said: "We will take some young players to train with us and keep the squad the size we need. Alex Scott. Rio Ngumoha. Josh King. And there will be one more player we cannot name because it's not confirmed yet." That unnamed player turned out to be Nwaneri, who was added after Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha and Joshua King had already been confirmed on Friday.
England’s squad is due to meet in Palm Beach on 1 June before flying to Florida for the camp. Tuchel also said the team will play warm-up games against New Zealand in Tampa and Costa Rica in Orlando before moving to Kansas City on 13 June. He added of the young group: "But I'm happy these guys are with us, especially Alex who was on the list of 55 and had a disappointing phone call that he didn't make the first cut. But the reaction of him was outstanding, the wish to be in pre-camp and close to the team, it wasn't even a question for him. I'm glad he's with us because it was a close call and he has a chance to get a first camp."
What Nwaneri brings after Marseille
The loan spell in France was not a clean success story, but it was not empty either. Nwaneri made 9 appearances for Marseille and scored 2 goals, which is enough to explain why Tuchel wants another look. He also returned with a 6.83 rating in Ligue 1, a decent output without turning the loan into a breakout.
That is probably the right read on this call-up. Tuchel is not treating Nwaneri like a finished article, but he is also not sending him into camp as a token youth pick. The teenager gets a proper chance in a squad that now includes players with more senior mileage, and the competition around him is obvious. Scott has 37 Premier League appearances for Bournemouth, Ngumoha has 18 for Liverpool and King has 31 for Fulham.
Tuchel's timing makes sense as well. By waiting until Saturday to confirm Nwaneri, he kept the camp group balanced and left room for the late additions around the Arsenal contingent, including Bukayo Saka. The next step is simple enough, Nwaneri has to use the Florida camp to show he belongs in this conversation when England return from the warm-up games.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
