It is safe to say none of the 55 England players named in Thomas Tuchel's provisional World Cup squad will let their phones leave their sight for the next few hours.

Whether they are in or out, by the time the England manager publicly announces his final 26-man selection on Friday, everyone will have been contacted – and told their fate.

For some, the shock will be the fact they will be on the plane to the US, Canada and Mexico – for others, it will be hearing how they are staying at home.

From the elation of making the cut to the despair of missing out, BBC pundits Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Theo Walcott and Stephen Warnock share their stories of what it is like to get a call before a major tournament with news that will make or break your summer.

And, if you think being told face-to-face is any better, Martin Keown recalls the aftermath of arguably the most famous England squad omission of all.

Who is pushing for late England World Cup call-up?

Micah Richards had already missed out on Euro 2008 with England after a dramatic late home defeat by Croatia meant the Three Lions failed to qualify

Two days after Manchester City won the Premier League title in May 2012, England boss Roy Hodgson was set to name his squad for the European Championship finals.

City right-back Micah Richards had spent much of the past 48 hours partying after his side's famous 'Aguero moment' and now he was expecting more reason to celebrate.

"I'd been recalled for England's previous game, under caretaker manager Stuart Pearce, and played against the Netherlands in February," Richards remembered.

"I'd made 23 starts for City that season to help us win the league and one of my rivals for the England right-back slot, Kyle Walker, was definitely out of the tournament injured.

"I'd kind of convinced myself I was going to Poland and Ukraine, and I was at home, literally sitting and waiting for the call from Roy… but, when my phone rang, it was Pearce's name that flashed up.

"I thought, 'this is weird, why is he calling me?' He was my old City boss but also the England Under-21 coach at the time, and I didn't think it would be anything important, just that he would be wishing me luck at the tournament.

"Then he says to me, 'Hodgson's not going to pick you'. I didn't know what to say – I just wanted to cry. I look back now and think Roy should have called me himself.

"In the same conversation, Stuart said that Hodgson had asked me to go on standby, but he wanted me himself in his squad for the London Olympics. I couldn't do both.

"Pearce was very honest with me, and said there could be injuries that meant I still got the England call, but I decided to go where I would be appreciated, and go to the Olympics with him.

"The way it was portrayed in the press, though, I had said no to England. Especially when Gary Cahill got injured in a warm-up match and Liverpool right-back Martin Kelly, who wasn't even on the standby list, got called up for the Euros.

"Suddenly I was supposedly the one with the bad attitude, who didn't want to play for England or felt he was too good to be on standby – which was not true at all.

"I was at home, almost in tears and feeling so low, and reading reports that I had snubbed my country, when I would never do that.

"Roy never picked me again, of course. That was the end of my international career.

"When I first got in the England team aged 18, I thought I would end up with 70 or 80 caps. Instead I finished with 13, and my last appearance came when I was 23."

World Cup 2026: Every nation's squad as they are announced

Who will make the plane? Stephen Warnock (left) and Leighton Baines warm up before England's pre-World Cup friendly against Japan in Austria in May 2010

Ashley Cole was cemented as England's first-choice left-back for the 2010 World Cup, but who would go to South Africa as his understudy?

With Wayne Bridge making himself unavailable, the choice for boss Fabio Capello came down to either Everton's Leighton Baines or Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock, who both made the provisional squad.

When the group returned home from their pre-tournament training camp in Austria, it was still unclear who he would take.

"We were told we'd get a phone call one way or another," Warnock recalled. "We knew the call would come on the day the squad came out, from a certain number and before a certain time, because they would be announcing it straight afterwards. So I was at home, literally just waiting by the phone.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to go because in the two warm-up games we'd just played, against Mexico and Japan, I hadn't kicked a ball.

"My England career at that point was the seven minutes I'd played against Trinidad and Tobago two years earlier, in June 2008.

"I'd gone to Austria with an ankle injury that I'd picked up in Villa's last game of the season.

"I went on holiday but had a scan when I was away and then spoke to the physios when I came back and basically told them I am going to do everything I can to get in the World Cup squad.

"I told them to strap me up and I would limp through training for the first week. When I was in Austria I was having physio every hour of the day I could get it, and I worked on my ankle as much as possible.

"I don't know if that was being relayed to the management, but when I didn't play in either game, I thought that was me done, that Capello wasn't going to take me now.

"I remember exactly where I was when I got the call.

"I am divorced now but I was in the house with my now ex-wife and I went upstairs to my bedroom when the phone rang, because I just wanted to be on my own. I just remember walking downstairs saying 'I'm going!' and I was probably in a bit of shock.

"It was Franco Baldini [Capello's assistant] who rang and I have no idea if he called everyone else to tell them – I didn't know how it worked, and I didn't care!

"Baldini just said, 'listen, you've had a great season, we knew what you were capable of anyway and we love your attitude – we think you will be perfect around the camp for training and things like that.

"'You know Ash is going to be difficult to budge, because he doesn't get injured and he doesn't not play, but we think you're the perfect back-up to him, in terms of your professionalism and everything else'.

"I was like, "yeah 100%, that will do me". I knew what my role would be anyway, so that was fine."

While the good news came as a surprise to Warnock, a clue was already out there.

The previous day, England kit manufacturer Umbro had sent muralists to the hometowns of every player in the squad to paint their shirt number in a prominent place as a play on their 'tailored by' slogan.

For Warnock, that was a wall on the side of the O'Este restaurant at a busy crossroads in Ormskirk.

'Tailored by Ormskirk' – the mural with Warnock's World Cup squad number that appeared the night before he was told he was going to South Africa

"When I told people I was in, everyone was like 'I saw that mural last night, and I didn't know what it was – it makes sense now'," Warnock added.

"I remember driving down to see it thinking, 'if only I'd gone past here last night, I would have known I was going!'

"I didn't get to play in South Africa, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I just looked at it as if I had a front-row seat to the biggest tournament in world football."

Giroud, Azpilicueta and McCarthy join BBC World Cup team

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He'd been having a difficult time of it at club level, but Joe Hart did not think his England future was in doubt as the 2018 World Cup approached.

Sure, the inexperienced Jordan Pickford (two caps) and Jack Butland (seven) had started the previ

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The boss of EasyJet has said the airline will not be affected by jet fuel shortages this summer, but says people are booking flights later because of the uncertainty caused by Iran war.

Kenton Jarvis told the BBC travellers should not panic as the airline had seen no issues with fuel supplies, adding that people could book with confidence.

The conflict in the Middle East has led to the effective blockade of the key Strait of Hormuz waterway, normally a key route for Europe's jet fuel, and this has led to near doubling in fuel prices.

Earlier this week, rival carrier Ryanair said Europe remained "relatively well supplied with jet fuel".

On Wednesday, it emerged that plans to impose a ban on UK imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil in third countries have been watered down amid concerns over supplies and price rises.

However, Jarvis told the BBC's Today programme: "We've seen absolutely no issues with fuel supply in any of our airports in the UK across Europe or indeed beyond."

He added the carrier stayed in close contact with its fuel suppliers, airports and governments and "they're equally raising no issues looking forward".

"I would absolutely say don't panic about it, at EasyJet we fully intend to fly the summer schedule that we have on sale," he said, adding that the airline would not be adding fuel surcharges to fares.

Jarvis said fuel production had increased in Norway, West Africa and the Americas, while "refining capacity for jet fuel has also increased substantially outside of the Gulf region".

One change EasyJet had seen was a "shortened booking window", with demand strong for flights departing the same month, Jarvis said.

"As you look further out people are more cautious, people are waiting and watching, but they are booking… and I expect that strong late booking market to run through the summer."

The trend of later bookings echoes that seen by other travel firms. Jet2 said last month that bookings had "become increasingly close to departure" since the beginning of the conflict, while Tui said it had seen a 10% fall in revenue from summer holiday bookings made by UK customers.

Travel agent group Advantage Travel Partnership said "strong demand for holidays departing in the coming weeks suggests consumers remain cautious about committing too far ahead", although it added the "continued momentum in the late-booking market also underlines that appetite for travel remains resilient".

Jarvis's comments on delayed bookings came as EasyJet reported a pre-tax loss of £552m for the six months to March. Airlines typically make losses over the winter then look to make profits during the peak summer holiday season.

The carrier reiterated that its financial performance during the second half of the year would be affected by higher fuel costs and uncertainty over customer demand.

Earlier this year, EasyJet said it would be trimming the number of seats it had on sale this summer by 0.3%. The airline has also said the Iran war had added an extra £25m to its fuel bill in March.

In late February, before the first US and Israeli airstrikes, jet fuel was trading at $831 a tonne in Europe. By early April, it had touched $1,838 a tonne before beginning to fall. It is now down to around $1,300.

EasyJet said it had signed deals – or hedged – for 72% of its fuel supply for the six months to the end of September at pre-Iran war prices. For the six months over the 2026-27 winter this falls to 53%.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said EasyJet was "one of the more sensitive European airlines to fuel price fluctuations".

"The recent spike in fuel prices looks set to take a big toll on profitability," he said. "Even if the Middle East conflict is resolved in the near term, fuel prices are likely to remain elevated for some time."

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UK net migration has dropped to the lowest level, outside of the Covid pandemic, since 2012.

How does that sit alongside other key migration measures, including asylum applications, small boat arrivals and visas granted?

Scroll down to find out more about the latest key figures, and get answers to key questions on a range of topics.

Produced by: Rob England, Libby Rogers, Jess Carr, Aidan McNamee, John Walton, Becky Dale, Allison Shultes, Chris Kay, Steven Connor and Scott Jarvis.

Graphics by: Jez Frazer, Zoe Bartholomew and Joy Roxas

Figures from government and other official sources can be revised between publications. This page shows data as presented in the latest available release.

Immigration, emigration and net migration

*The net migration figure for the UK will not exactly equal immigration minus emigration because the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes it as a rounded number.

Immigration and emigration estimates from the ONS are updated twice a year.

Net migration figures use the internationally recognised definition of a long-term migrant: "A person who moves to a country other than that of their usual residence for at least a year."

The total number of visa entries only includes visas that have been granted. It does not include visitor visas or transit visas, where the UK is not the final destination.

Visa figures record when permission was granted, not when or whether someone arrived in the UK.

If a person was granted more than one visa within the year shown, each visa is counted separately.

Work visas refer to new individuals granted permission, or extensions of existing permission. This includes categories such as seasonal work, health and care, domestic worker and youth mobility visas.

Study visas include all individuals sponsored by approved UK education providers, as well as those on short-term study visas.

Family visas allow someone to come to or remain in the UK to live with close family members already here. This includes joining a spouse, partner, child or parent, or coming to care for a relative.

The "Other" category includes visas outside work, study and family routes. This covers humanitarian schemes such as the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the British National (Overseas) route. It also includes family permits for people from European Union or European Economic Area countries.

Home Office figures for asylum seekers in hotels are published under the category "contingency accommodation – hotel".

The number of people in all other forms of accommodation includes non-hotel contingency accommodation, as well as initial, dispersal and "other" accommodation.

To show how evenly accommodation is distributed, a scale compares each local authority's share of people in that type of accommodation with the UK-wide average for areas using the same accommodation type:

Backlog figures for people waiting for an initial asylum decision include both main applicants and dependants.

Open appeals against refused asylum applications refer to individuals. Figures on appeals are published every three months by the Ministry of Justice, at a different time from other government asylum statistics. It also includes a small number of appeals against revocation of protection.

Small boat crossings and other irregular arrivals

Small boat crossing figures and the average number of people per boat are taken from the Home Office daily data.

Entering the UK without permission is an offence under immigration law, but asylum seekers are generally not prosecuted if they claim asylum on arrival. In some cases, people have been prosecuted alongside other offences, such as people smuggling or re-entering after deportation.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) collects figures on people who have died or gone missing while crossing from mainland Europe to the UK. These reports are based on information from French and UK officials (such as police or coastguard) and media sources. The IOM considers them an undercount because there are no official statistics.

The figures may include people who died in the Channel itself, as well as those who died while travelling to a crossing point.

Data on modern slavery includes final decisions only. Modern slavery covers human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced labour.

Figures for other entries without permission combine all recorded irregular arrivals that were not by small boat. This includes inadequately documented air arrivals, recorded detections at UK ports, and other recorded detections within the UK.

People who are denied entry at the border and then leave the UK are not included in the returns figures on this page.

Returns involving the government are grouped into three categories. Enforced returns (which include deportations) are cases where the Home Office requires someone to leave and arranges their removal, usually because they have no legal right to remain or following a criminal conviction.

Assisted voluntary returns are when someone agrees to leave the UK and receives government support, such as help with travel documents, flights or reintegration assistance.

Controlled voluntary returns are when someone leaves the UK voluntarily without being forcibly removed, but their departure is formally recorded by the Home Office.

Independent returns are referred to by the government as "other verified returns," and refer to individuals who have left the UK without

People returned after a criminal conviction include non-British citizens convicted in the UK of any criminal offence, or convicted abroad of a serious criminal offence.

UK migration compared with other countries

Sea arrival figures are taken from the UNHCR European sea arrivals dashboard and combined with UK Home Office small boat data.

Asylum application, immigration and emigration figures for European countries are the latest available data from Eurostat for: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway, Switzerland and Croatia.

UK population figures are from ONS, National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency 2024 mid-year estimates. European population figures are from Eurostat as of 1 January 2024.

To ensure comparability with the UK, European countries with populations under one million are excluded from per-capita comparisons of net migration and asylum applications.

For net migration comparisons, only countries that include asylum seekers or refugees in their immigration figures are included.

These are: Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.

Portugal was also excluded as it did not have net migration data available for 2024, it will be re-included in future updates.

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