The teenager still has a chance.
England boss Thomas Tuchel is not ruling out calling up Max Dowman for the 2026 World Cup after electing not to include the Arsenal teenager in his 35-man squad for this month’s friendlies.
Hype around Dowman hit new heights last week after his instrumental role in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton, which saw the Gunners take another step towards the Premier League title.
The 16-year-old delivered the cross from which Arsenal scored their opening goal after a misjudgement from Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and then capped off the victory by surging from his own half to roll the ball into an empty net with Pickford having left his goal to give Everton an extra man at a late corner.
Dowman has been capped nine times by England at Under-19 level, but has only made seven senior appearances for Arsenal.
As such, Tuchel did not wish to add to the attention on Dowman by calling him up for the games with Uruguay and Japan, though he is open to the possibility of the forward being in his World Cup plans.
“He put himself in the spotlight now with this amazing goal against Everton and the crucial goal,” Tuchel told a press conference.
“I think he is at the moment competing and obviously a fantastic talent and an outstanding talent and 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 is not a regular starter for Arsenal. I think he is in a fantastic environment. I think he is in the best environment possible in a competitive club, in a stable club, in a club where teamwork is 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.
“With these young guys, of course we know all these players and we see them as you do as well. At the moment I think he is in a good place to fight for his position, fight for his minutes at Arsenal.
“We always have the chance to call him maybe up for the World Cup. The thing with young players is to keep their momentum going and keep their excitement. 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 we have all options.”
England recall Manchester United pair
Among the headlines of Tuchel’s squad announcement were recalls for Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo.
While Maguire has 64 caps for England, his last came in a Nations League game against Republic of Ireland in September 2024. That clash also marked Mainoo’s most recent appearance in an England shirt.
Explaining their returns, Tuchel said: “It’s just to acknowledge the achievement of Man United as a team. I think they have an outstanding run since Michael Carrick is in charge and Harry and Kobbie are a big part of that.
“So it’s like I said, it’s the last camp before the US, it’s the last chance also for me to get to know new players, to learn about new players.
“Kobbie is one of them, Harry is not a new player, of course, in an England shirt, but new to me in a camp.
“I want to see them around other players, I want to feel them on the pitch, I want to see what they’re capable of and learn about them to make a clear decision then in May.”
