Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott is on the verge of making his senior England debut during the upcoming World Cup warm-up matches in the United States.
The 22-year-old is among five supplementary players—alongside Rio Ngumoha, Josh King, Jason Steele, and Ethan Nwaneri—who have joined the England camp in Florida while awaiting the arrival of Arsenal quartet Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Those five are delayed due to their involvement in European finals.
Henderson is expected within 24 hours, with the Arsenal players due over the weekend. Crucially, all five supplementary players are eligible to feature in the friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica, and they will remain in Florida for the entire camp.
Scott, who was named in Thomas Tuchel's provisional 55-man World Cup squad, is the only supplementary player with a realistic chance of breaking into the full squad should injuries occur. He earned his first senior call-up in November but did not play. After being omitted from the March friendlies and the final 26-man World Cup squad, Scott's inclusion in the pre-tournament camp highlights his resilience.
"I'm really happy these guys are with us, especially Alex," Tuchel said. "He had a disappointing phone call but his reaction was outstanding. The commitment and wish to be a step closer to the team was not even a question. He showed me his character."
Scott is now strongly poised to make his international debut in one of the two friendlies before heading off for his summer break.