German Thomas Tuchel, the coach of the England national team, announced the exclusion of one of the team’s strikers before the expected confrontation against Latvia, in the sixth round of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico.
Tuchel excluded veteran Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins from the team’s roster in the last moments, after sustaining an injury from the recent friendly match against Wales.
Watkins suffered an injury during the friendly match between England and Wales, which ended with England winning 3-0.
Watkins excluded from England’s squad to face Latvia
Watkins’ injury came after he hit the crossbar while trying to catch a cross, which resulted in him sustaining a knee injury and a severe leg bruise, forcing him to leave the field during the first half.
On the other hand, the young striker for Tottenham, Dan Scarlett, joined the training of the first England national team on Monday morning, in a move that gives him a valuable opportunity to gain experience with the “Three Lions”, while he continues his quest to obtain playing minutes under the leadership of Thomas Frank.
The England national team, led by Thomas Tuchel, is preparing to face Latvia away from home on Tuesday evening, a match that may guarantee the team’s official qualification to the World Cup next summer.
The match between England and Latvia will be held on Tuesday evening, October 14, 2025, at Daugava Stadium in the capital, Riga, and the starting whistle will sound at 8:45 pm Cairo time, 9:45 pm Riyadh time, and 10:45 pm Abu Dhabi time, within the sixth round of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico.
The team held a training session at Tottenham Stadium before traveling to Riga later in the day, where Scarlett was invited to join the team roster following Ollie Watkins’ injury in the Wales match and his exclusion from the trip.
On the other hand, the technical staff received a positive boost with the return of Harry Kane, who is ready to participate after missing the last match due to an ankle problem.
A young star decorates the Three Lions’ roster to face Latvia
Scarlett is one of the few Tottenham players present at the club’s headquarters during the international break, and last week participated in a closed-door friendly against Watford alongside Brandon Austin and Randall Kolo Mwani.
Despite being on the bench for five matches this season, Scarlett has yet to get the chance to play under Frank, and the young striker has a distinguished record with the England national teams, as he participated in 22 matches with the Under-20 team and scored 10 goals, in addition to two goals in four matches with the Under-21 team.
After being loaned to Oxford in the first half of last season, Scarlett returned to Tottenham in January, and scored his first goal with the team against Elfsborg in the Europa League, before undergoing hip surgery that ended his season.
