Bournemouth star receives first England call-up

James Hill Earns First England Call-Up as England Need Defensive Cover England have made a simple, sensible decision. James Hill is in, Ezri Konsa is out for Thursday, and Thomas Tuchel needs cover at centre-back before the Nations League meeting with Croatia at Wembley. Hill, 24, receives his first senior England call-up after a season built on availability and consistency. That matters. He has played every minute of Bournemouth’s Premier League campaign and has also featured in every match of their first Europa League run. Managers notice that. So do international coaches. England Turn to James Hill Konsa’s issue is a knee injury, suffered in the Champions League win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday. He was taken off in that match, although the timeline around his fitness has not been straightforward given he then completed 90 minutes in the win over Hull on Saturday. The expectation is that he will return to full training this week, ahead of England’s game against Spain in Madrid on Sunday. For now, though, he is unavailable for Croatia, and Hill gets his chance. Bournemouth Form Drives Selection This call-up has not come from nowhere. Hill joined Bournemouth from Fleetwood in January 2022 for an undisclosed fee, and for a long period he was a squad player, making only 24 appearances across his first three and a half years at the club. That has changed. Last season he became a regular as Bournemouth recorded their highest top-flight finish of sixth. This season he has gone further, staying ever-present while Bournemouth put together an eight-match winning run in all competitions and sit seventh in the Premier League. Defensive Depth Tested Before Croatia England’s defensive reshuffle had already started before Hill’s inclusion. On Sunday, Dan Burn replaced Marc Guehi after the Man City defender withdrew with a hip injury. Tuchel now has another option, and Hill has earned it the hard way, by playing, by staying fit, and by doing his job every week. There is no romance in that, only logic. England needed cover, and James Hill has given them a reason to trust him.