Thomas Tuchel is sure to have a selection headache when it comes to deciding on his England squad for the World Cup.There is a plethora of world-class talent available for the German to pick from and he’s going to want to get it exactly right.Tuchel is going to have a tough job in selecting his England squad for the World CupGettyCaptain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Jordan Pickford and Declan Rice are all certain to be called up this summer, which begins in less than 100 days.And Tuchel maybe has many more players he has already decided he’s going to pick for the tournament in North America.But could we be set to see some unexpected names in the running for a place on the Three Lions set-up? European football expert Andy Brassell has spoken to talkSPORT to select some potential wildcard selections for the World Cup…Tyler Morton Former Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton has been tipped for an unlikely call-up to the England squad this summer.The Reds academy product left the Premier League in search of more regular football, and after finding it with French side Lyon, where he’s played 31 times this season, he’s been thriving.Brassell said on the uncapped midfielder: “If you look at English players outside the established names like Kane and [Marcus] Rashford and Bellingham, he’s maybe been the outstanding Englishman in continental Europe this season.“I think what’s really worked for him is the fact that Paulo Fonseca, the coach, wanted him from the beginning. He said, you are the guy who’s going to run my team. You’re the perfect player for me and you’re exactly what I need. I want you to be able to really control the tempo of the team.“We’ve seen that Morton can make his tackles. He can pass in front of the defence. He can pass further forward. And to have someone who’s got such an innate sense of tempo that he doesn’t have to charge about everywhere…he always seems like he’s got so much time on the ball. “I think if we’re looking at the England squad and where I think he would go in, I think the issue is that Adam Wharton is clearly an unbelievable player. But Palace have not had a great season. And I don’t think he’s had a great season either.”Morton has become a star in France playing for Lyon after leaving LiverpoolAFPAnd Brassell is a huge fan of the way the 23-year-old playsHe added: “Morton, to me, is someone who could just fit in and do the job with very little fuss to give the incredible array of attacking options that England have got, just give a bit more shape and balance to the team. “Because that’s what he is, really. He’s a posh piano carrier. He’s a water carrier who’s got a little bit more class than your average one, but he doesn’t think he’s better than he is. “He realises it’s his job to keep the game moving and to help others play their best and he does it very well.”Ainsley Maitland-NilesAnother potential wildcard pick for Tuchel’s England squad could be ex-Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles.Maitland-Niles is a teammate of Morton’s at Lyon and will be eyeing a first Three Lions call-up since 2020 this summer, with his versatility an attractive trait to have in the set-up.Brassell told talkSPORT: “He has been really good, and seeing as he was so dead set earlier in his career that he didn’t want to be a right back, I think it’s fascinating that it’s worked out that that is the place where he is best. Ex-Arsenal star Maintland-Niles has found his position at right-back at LyonAFP“Now, what worked really well for him after several false starts in his Lyon career…it took Pierre Sage to help him settle and help him feel valued. And part of that was saying, well, look, if you play right back for me, you can step into midfield when we’ve got the ball. I know you can make underlapping runs and he’s done that very well. “So I think that showcases Maitland-Niles’ versatility…he always saw himself as a midfielder and he’s a midfielder who’s been persuaded to become a right back. “He’s played left back for Lyon, he’s played wing back, all sorts of different interpretations of the role. And he’s been largely pretty consistent as well, very well-liked in the dressing room.“Given that his career looked like it was in danger of turning into a championship player when things were going how they were at Southampton, and then that poor start at Lyon, he’s done brilliantly well to get to where he is.”He continued: “I think if you look at where England are, there will be people reading this thinking he is a long way back in terms of England right backs, because England have got Reece James, they’ve got Tino Livramento, they’ve got Trent Alexander-Arnold.“But one of those, Thomas Tuchel, doesn’t fancy at all and the other two have got fitness issues. In fact, the third one, whom Tuchel doesn’t fancy that much, has got fitness issues and has had fitness issues this season as well. So, to have someone of the versatility of Maitland-Niles in the squad, I think there’s a case to be made for it.”Tuchel has an incredible amount of options at right-back for the World CupAFPBrooke Norton-CuffyDespite the high level of competition at right-back, Brassell believes England U21 star Brooke Norton-Cuffy deserves to be considered.The former Arsenal defender is starring for Genoa in Serie A this season, attracting interest from other clubs around Europe, and now, he may fancy himself to force Tuchel into a decision.“Norton-Cuffy has done so well in Italy to establish himself because, really, he’s been in a series of quite bad Genoa teams, which have not always made him look good,” Brassell said on the 22-year-old. “It’s made him step up and it’s made him work at his game and become the player he is. What I like about him is that he can contribute offensively, but he’s defensively very, very sound. “And I think of all the English qualified right-backs that we could go through, I think Norton-Cuffy is up there as a defender.”Brassel went on to add: “He can play in a four, he can play in a three slash five as well. He’s come such a long way and he pops up in interesting positions to provide an attacking threat as well. Norton-Cuffy could well be an outside shout for a Three Lions call-upGetty“He’s pretty versatile. He’s physically more powerful than anyone else on that list you could talk about, apart from Reece James – and Reece James is, for me, his first choice, unless there’s fitness problems, which there always are. “I think if you were calling Norton-Cuffy into the squad, it would be with an eye to the future as well. He’s got a big future ahead of him. I suspect when he leaves Genoa at the end of the season, and he will leave Genoa at the end of the season because he’s too good for them…it looks most likely that he’ll go to Inter. “The thing with Norton-Cuffy is I do get the impression, a bit like Kyle Walker, he could play as a right centre-back as well. So, he’s still developing, but he’s come a really long way since he’s been in Italy.”Fikayo TomoriA player who is always among those mentioned for an England call-up is AC Milan centre-back Fikayo Tomori.Despite his impressive performances in Italy, Tomori has never managed to secure a regular spot in the Three Lions squad, failing to appear in a World Cup or European Championship before.Now 28, the former Chelsea defender boasts a lot of experience and could earn his first national appearance since 2023 this summer.Tomori has grown into a star for AC Milan and now offers an experienced optionGettyAnd despite perceptions from English fans, he would be a good call-up to the England squad, according to BrassellBrassell said: “He’s been outstanding this season, and given that it looked like he was on the way out last season…Tomori’s been great this season in a Milan team that have been very difficult to beat, in a Milan team that have been really defensively solid.“He’s played extensively in a back four before, but we’ve seen him do really well in the three this season. He has become better and better at bringing the ball out and passing it and contributing to the attack in open play as well. “So even though he’s 28…I think he really has added something to his game. He’s been really, really consistent in 2025 and he’s taking that into 2026 as well. I think working with Allegri has really helped him.”On Tomori’s improvement since playing for Chelsea, he added: “Because of those two not great games he had against Chelsea in the Champions League, going back a couple of years, when the calls for him to get called up for England were there…I think people who don’t really watch Serie A can have a certain impression of him and that’s how they’re going to think of him forever.“Whereas I think the way he has come back to really good form in the last year, especially when you consider some of the injuries that England have had in the centre-back position, I think would make him a good call.“And again, that extra versatility is something that really helps. That increased versatility is something that helps.”Godo was on loan at Wigan in 2024, but now he’s thriving in Ligue 1 with StrasbourgAFPMartial GodoAnd finally, Brassell selected Martial Godo as someone who could force their way into Tuchel’s thinking this summer.Godo, who played for Fulham for three years and spent a season on loan at Wigan in 2023/24, is loving life in France. The 22-year-old winger has netted 12 goals in 26 appearances for Strasbourg this term, also providing five assists. “Sometimes when you’re picking a squad, it’s just about hot hand, and Martial Godo has been that over the last couple of months,” Brassell said. “A player who really worked his way into Strasbourg’s first team through the Conference League and through Liam Rosenior’s experiments and trying out different formations and different players there. “But I think, especially now, Raheem Sterling, despite his Feyenoord debut, has been and gone as an England player…so, having a slightly smaller, more mobile forward who’s a constant searcher of solutions, who’s a great linking player, who increasingly is becoming a goal scorer…I think that [a Godo call-up] is an interesting outside bet.“Because you’re looking at someone who not a lot of people outside Ligue 1 really know so far. It’s so hard, especially for a nation as big as England, to come into a World Cup or any major championship with an unknown. It’s very difficult to do that.“If they dropped in Martial Godo, that totally would be left field and that would be a real surprise, which would catch some people off guard. “For him to use his excellent movement to fit in around Kane and the other excellent forward players that England have got, I think he’s got the intelligence and the intuition to fit really well into the front part of the England team. You could use him off the bench to great effect as well.”