Max Dowman offered England World Cup hope as Thomas Tuchel drops exciting hint | Football | Sport

Thomas Tuchel has refused to rule out the possibility of Max Dowman featuring in England’s World Cup squad this summer. The German manager participated in a press conference on Friday morning following the announcement of his 35-man squad for the nation’s preparatory fixtures against Uruguay and Japan later this month.

Whilst several Arsenal stars were named for the two encounters, which take place on Friday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 31, respectively, including Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice, and Noni Madueke, Dowman’s name was notably absent. When challenged about Dowman’s omission from the forthcoming fixtures, Tuchel clarified that whilst the youngster thrust himself into the limelight with his exploits against Everton earlier this month, the teenage prodigy is not currently a regular starter for the Gunners.

He said of the 16-year-old: “Well, he put himself in the spotlight no? With this amazing goal against Everton, and a crucial goal.”

“I think he is, at the moment, complete, and obviously a fantastic talent and an outstanding talent with this age. There cannot be a doubt about it.

“Everyone who tells me about Max praises him and is full of compliments about him. The reality at the moment is also that he competes for minutes – he’s not a regular starter for Arsenal.

“I think he’s in a fantastic environment, I think he’s in the best environment possible; in a competitive club, in a stable club, in a club where team work is the number one rule, this is how they play, this is how they function.

“So he learns from the very best, in the very best environment. And with these young guys, yeah, of course we know all these players and we see them as you do as well.

“At the moment I think he’s in a good place to fight for his position, fight for his minutes at Arsenal.”

Tuchel didn’t dismiss the prospect of selecting the talent for this summer’s tournament, however, stating: “We always have the chance to call him, maybe, up for the World Cup.

“The thing with young players is to keep their momentum, maybe, going and keep their excitement, and they have a level of fearlessness with them. So no need to call him up now and increase the pressure and increase all the noise that comes with it. But yeah, we have all options.”

Having registered a goal and an assist for Arsenal in the Premier League across three outings this campaign, the prospects are undoubtedly promising for young Dowman. And should he maintain his impressive run of performances for his club, it seems merely a question of time before he receives the call for international duty with England.

Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle United), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur)