England boss Thomas Tuchel says the England squad he is taking to the World Cup are those who are ‘unselfish’ and ‘100 per cent committed’ rather than the most talented footballers – in an apparent shot at those who will be left at home.
Tuchel named his 26-man squad to take to the United States today, confirming the high-profile omissions from a squad that was leaked on Thursday night – leaving Harry 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
Phil Foden and Cole Palmer are also staying at home after not being selected by Tuchel
‘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.
‘I can assure every fan in the country that we have 26 100 per cent committed players with us. Who know their role, who are ready to buy into their role on and off the pitch and who are ready and committed to the idea of team spirit and being unselfish.’
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
Jude Bellingham will be a key man for England and has few rivals for the No 10 place
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.
Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah and John Stones are the centre-back options in Tuchel’s squad.
Meanwhile, Foden and Palmer are excluded because Tuchel does not want to pick ‘five No 10s’ and changing their roles – an issue that proved a problem for England at Euro 2024 with Foden playing out wide.
‘What we’re trying to achieve in the summer can only be achieved as a team,’ Tuchel added. ‘That in mind, we chose a very balanced squad. We chose three goalkeepers, plus Jason Steele (as training goalkeeper). I want to take the opportunity, and thank Jason for being brilliant, and thank Brighton for being so cooperative.
‘We chose nine defenders for four positions, we chose seven midfielders for three positions, and we chose seven strikers for three positions.’
