Thomas Tuchel says he was ‘surprised’ by Harry Maguire and his family’s public outbursts about the England World Cup squad – and admits he prioritised an ‘unselfish’ team over simply selecting the 26 most talented players.
Tuchel made a series of high-profile omissions in a squad that was leaked on Thursday night and confirmed on Friday: Leaving Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw at home.
Those moves have been met by anger from some England fans – and Maguire’s family. His mum said she was ‘absolutely disgusted’ and wife Fern says he is ‘up against a single opinion’.
But Tuchel wants a good travelling group to take to the United States. He spoke on Friday of choosing ‘committed’ players, with ‘spirit’, and who are ‘unselfish’.
‘I think from day one we were very clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect the 26 most talented players,’ Tuchel said.
Thomas Tuchel has spoken out today after unveiling his England World Cup squad
Harry Maguire’s wife Fern took aim at Tuchel for excluding her husband from the squad
‘Teams win championships, it is as simple as that. What we are trying to achieve in the summer can only be achieved as a team.’
On Maguire’s specific reaction he added: ‘I was a bit surprised, but I respect his personality a lot, I respect his quality a lot. He had a quality season. I can understand the disappointment. I can see the reason behind the disappointment.
‘Still, I was a bit surprised as we had a private conversation. He had the chance to express his feelings, which he did. This is fair enough because I can see all the reasons why he could be in the squad. But the decision is that we stood firmly with our central defenders that carried us through September, October, November.
‘Some of them are part of a leadership group that took ownership and set the standards high… and it was a decision for these 26 players, even if it feels as it’s against these players.’
Tuchel has called Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, Bournemouth star Alex Scott and Josh King of Fulham to travel to America as additional training players.
The squad started to leak from Thursday afternoon with the Daily Mail among the publications who revealed who was included and who was excluded from Tuchel’s final selection. That has now been confirmed.
Tuchel said: ‘There were difficult phone calls. For some of them, it’s just a positional thing to have a balanced squad so we don’t bring five No 10s. Even if it was painful, I think it was the right call for England.
‘It is truly exciting and a great privilege to be able to name an England squad for the World Cup. It has been a tough process to decide on the nomination, but I have full belief in this group of players. They all deserve their place.’
England’s squad for the World Cup was confirmed – and it is exactly the group that the Daily Mail published on Thursday night
Fans have been left baffled by a few of Tuchel’s big-name omissions especially regarding Maguire, Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold.
Supporters of the Three Lions shared their thoughts on social media, and the consensus was overwhelmingly against Tuchel.
‘No Lewis Hall is borderline treason,’ content creator Tom Garratt wrote on X. ‘Can the king not step in?’
‘When you actually think about it,’ Rory Jennings said, ‘it’s a disgrace that Thomas Tuchel is England manager, a national embarrassment.’
@Gideoomatic said: ‘Tuchel has somehow managed to unite the entire English fanbase against, quite impressive actually.’
‘Tuchel has lost his mind,’ said another fan. ‘What on earth.’
Maguire broke his silence on Thursday after it was revealed he had been left out of England’s 26-man squad despite his upturn in form.
The Manchester United defender said he is ‘shocked and gutted by the decision’ to be left at home while his mum Zoe and brother Joe stated their outrage.
