Gibbs-White tells Tuchel he deserved England call-up

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White told new England boss Thomas Tuchel he deserved to be included in the German's first squad in charge after only being drafted in at late notice.

The omission of the Forest captain from Tuchel's squad on Friday was a surprise given his role in firing Nuno Espirito Santo's men to third in the Premier League.

However, the 25-year-old was handed a reprieve on Sunday when an injury to Cole Palmer saw Gibbs-White called up.

"Obviously I was upset. Yeah, a little bit disappointed," Gibbs-White told the BBC.

"I said to him back like 'I feel like I've done enough to get the call-up, considering the form level that we were in, but obviously you're the manager, you make the decisions, and I respect that totally'.

"So, obviously, it was disappointing but then Sunday I got the call, so I was straight here."

Gibbs-White made his first two appearances for the Three Lions under caretaker manager Lee Carsley.

Morgan Gibbs-White has received a late call-up to Thomas Tuchel's first England squad. pic.twitter.com/2K5immYGom
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 16, 2025

But he faces stiff competition to earn a place regularly in Tuchel's team from the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Palmer.

"The standard of players is top level," Gibbs-White said.

"He (Tuchel) phoned me up and said 'Are you still upset with me, or do you want to come and join us and fancy training tomorrow?'

"Obviously, there's no question there. I said I'd obviously love to come and join and train with the boys, so, yeah, found out Sunday late afternoon and I was just smiling from ear to ear."

Tuchel's reign begins with a World Cup qualifier against Albania on Friday followed by the visit of Latvia to Wembley on March 24.

Despite his initial snub, Gibbs-White has praised Tuchel's approach in seeking to speak to the players before they met for the first time at England's St.George's Park training base this week.

"I feel like it was, for him, important to try and get that bond straight away with players because he's used to club football, so he's used to spending time every day with players," he said.

"I felt like it was top from him, really good that he sort of started that relationship before even meeting us, which is really good."