Thomas Tuchel’s England squad announcements always draw mass traction, with star-studded omissions and curve-ball inclusions but when goalkeeper Jason Steele’s name was listed alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, eyebrows were raised.
The Brighton and Hove Albion shot-stopper has never earned a cap for his nation and last featured in a Premier League match back in August 2024 despite approaching the twilight years of his career at the age of 35.
So why has the England boss turned to Steele and what is his story?
Who is Jason Steele?
Coming through the ranks at his hometown club Middlesbrough, Steele established himself as the first-choice keeper at the Riverside. He built a reputation as an impressive young goalkeeper before making the switch to Blackburn Rovers.
After suffering back-to-back relegations with Rovers and Sunderland, he penned an initial three-year deal with the Seagulls in 2018, where he has been ever since. The 35-year-old has predominantly been the club’s second-choice goalkeeper despite a stint between the sticks when Brighton secured Europa League qualification in 2023/24.
At international level, Steele has donned the Three Lions’ shirt at various ages. He made seven appearances at under-21 level from 2010-13, and represented Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Why has Tuchel included Steele?
Given the surprise nature of the goalkeeper’s inclusion, Tuchel was pressed on the reasons behind his inclusion when he addressed the media this morning.
“No one is on the plane to America,” said Tuchel. “He is now with us in the March camp.”
“England has a history of taking four goalkeepers to the tournament, which makes absolute sense. We identified Jason to be a very, very good candidate for this role.”
“We want to try it and the trial is now in the March camp.”
As the German pointed out, England have previously taken a fourth or ‘training keeper’ to tournaments, with Tom Heaton joining the squad at Euro 2024.
Not only is goalkeeping ability important for these roles but character plays a huge part. The fourth keeper needs to be a positive influence on the camp rather than a disgruntled omitted option and therefore selecting a player who’d have had little chance of being included based on performances can be beneficial.
What is England’s goalkeeping situation?
Everton’s Jordan Pickford is arguably the first name on the team sheet for the Three Lions after repeatedly proving his worth throughout Gareth Southgate’s tenure so there’s little debate over the number one shirt.
He produced penalty heroics in England’s shootout defeat to Italy at Euro 2020 and only strengthened his grip on the position as Tuchel’s side didn’t concede a single goal in their qualifying campaign for this summer’s tournament.
Crystal Palace ‘keeper Dean Henderson started England’s final qualifying match in Tirana and continued the flawless streak, earning his fourth international clean sheet, and will likely be Pickford’s understudy.
Manchester City’s James Trafford is also named in the 35-man squad despite failing to usurp Gianluigi Donnarumma for Pep Guardiola’s side. Newcastle shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale is in whilst teammate Nick Pope misses out.
Tuchel will only use three of his 26 World Cup spots on goalkeepers, meaning at least two of the names included in the group this time around won’t be in the summer. Should Steele impress as a training goalkeeper option however, then he could travel with the group despite not being officially listed.
