Rice, Palmer, Rashford among five England stars ruled out vs Spain

England's squad for their opening UEFA Nations League match against Spain at Wembley on Saturday has suffered a blow with the withdrawal of five key players due to injury concerns. Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, and Tino Livramento have all been ruled out, leaving manager Thomas Tuchel to make adjustments to the team.

Rice, a 27-year-old Arsenal midfielder, is a veteran of the squad who was part of England's 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the latest Nations League campaign. Palmer, a 24-year-old Chelsea forward, returns to the squad after a World Cup stint but now faces a tough challenge to regain his place. Rashford, a Manchester United player on loan at Barcelona, was part of England's World Cup squad and had been selected for the Nations League campaign.

Mainoo, a 21-year-old Manchester United midfielder, had been praised by Tuchel for his performance during the World Cup, though he missed more than his fair share of games due to injury. Livramento, a 26-year-old Newcastle United defender, completes the list of absentees. He had previously missed part of England's World Cup campaign after suffering a calf injury in training.

Tuchel has responded by calling up Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner as replacements, both of whom have previous senior international caps. The match against Spain is the first fixture of England's 2026-27 Nations League campaign.