Thomas Tuchel has confirmed his England squad for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, with several high-profile players left out. Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Harry Maguire are among the notable omissions from the 26-man squad.
Surprise Omissions
Foden and Palmer have missed out after struggling for form at their respective clubs this season. Morgan Gibbs-White, despite an impressive campaign for Nottingham Forest, has also been excluded. Harry Maguire, who earned his first call-up under Tuchel in March and featured in both friendlies, expressed his shock on Instagram: 'I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I wish the players all the best this summer.'
Alexander-Arnold’s exclusion is less surprising, as the Real Madrid defender has fallen out of favour with Tuchel and has not played for England since a brief cameo in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra last June. Luke Shaw, Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori, Adam Wharton, and Jarrod Bowen have also missed out.
Inclusions and Backups
John Stones, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Jarell Quansah, Jordan Henderson, and Noni Madueke have all made the cut. Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins have been included as backups to first-choice striker Harry Kane. Former England defender Phil Jagielka commented on the selections, saying: 'It's not been a great season for either Phil Foden or Cole Palmer. In that attacking area, we've got a pool of players who have outperformed them at club level. Usually for England you keep your place on your name, but Tuchel wants to pick on form and chemistry, so I'm not surprised.'
Penalty Specialist
Jagielka added: 'Would I have taken Ivan Toney? With no disrespect, no, but it's a different situation. Maybe his schedule hasn't been as hectic. If the manager thinks he needs to give Harry Kane a rest or we need a penalty specialist, there are loads of situations where he could come into the mix. It's going to be a very hot tournament, so he wants to bring a pretty fresh Ivan Toney. Obviously, he's a penalty specialist. We hope we won't go through that in a tournament again, but that's very possible.'
Regarding Maguire's exclusion, Jagielka said: 'With the Harry Maguire situation, it's one where Tuchel has decided to go with other options. I think Maguire's form this year has put him in as good a position as he could have been in, but Tuchel's stuck to his guns and you've got to respect that.'
