It’s safe to say that Thomas Tuchel raised some eyebrows as a number of big names were omitted from his 26-man England squad heading to the World Cup.
While Ivan Toney snatched the headlines with his shock call-up, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were among the high-profile absentees, with intense competition in creative positions seeing the pair pay for their mixed club form this season.
Harry Maguire was particularly vocal about his own omission, taking to social media to say he was “shocked and gutted” to learn the news that he would had not been selected to participate at a third World Cup.
With the Three Lions bidding to end 60 years of hurt across the Atlantic this summer, there will be a wealth of English talent watching from home – to the point where Tuchel basically has an entire team of established internationals waiting in reserve.
Here’s an XI of England stars not selected for this summer’s World Cup:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
GK: Nick Pope
While never making an appearance, Newcastle stopper Pope has long been Jordan Pickford’s understudy and was named in both of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squads, first in Russia in 2018 before also finding himself on the plane to Qatar four years ago. He’s fallen down the pecking order under Tuchel, however, who has preferred Dean Henderson and James Trafford as back-ups.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold has endured an imperfect first season since swapping boyhood club Liverpool for Real Madrid last summer, something which hasn’t helped him win favour with a manager who never looked particularly keen on his defensively-vulnerable profile. The 27-year-old has two World Cup campaigns under his belt, while also featuring at Euro 2024, but hasn’t been named in an England squad since June 2025 despite his creative qualities.
CB: Levi Colwill
Colwill was in a frantic race against time to win over Tuchel having spent almost the entirety of the season sidelined with a serious knee injury. He only made his first Chelsea appearance of the campaign on 4 May, coming off the bench in a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. It was a testament to his talent that he was even in contention given how his 2025/26 has panned out, but Tuchel opted for other options.
CB: Harry Maguire
Known for his solidity at international tournaments over the years, veteran Maguire hoped he’d done enough to force himself into Tuchel’s squad after experiencing something of a club career renaissance at Manchester United this term, which saw him rewarded with a contract extension. Alas, Maguire is absent – and he isn’t happy about it. After revealing the news and his dismay before the announcement in an interview with Rio Ferdinand, his family have also taken to social media, with his brother branding it as “the worst decision I’ve ever seen in my life” and his mother saying she was “disgusted” by the call. That might not help his cause to get back into Tuchel’s good books before a home Euros in 2028.
LB: Lewis Hall
Hall will feel hard done by to not boast a berth in Tuchel’s squad after an impressive couple of years at Newcastle, where he established himself as one of the most reliable in the league in his position. Instead, Djed Spence was given a fascinating call-up to cover both full-back positions.
CM: Adam Wharton
Wharton was one of the surprise picks of Southgate’s last ever roster for an international tournament when he was chucked into the Euro 2024 squad off the back of a stellar first six months at Crystal Palace. While he remains one of England’s most highly-regarded young talents, he hasn’t done enough to earn that same faith from Tuchel. Instead, Kobbie Mainoo gets the nod.
CM: Morgan Gibbs-White
One of the many talents to be impeded by England’s overflowing options in creative positions (hence why he’s being played a little further back in this XI), Gibbs-White could not have done much more to earn a World Cup berth. He has regularly impressed for a Nottingham Forest team that has struggled for a lot of the season but misses out nonetheless, with Tuchel choosing Eberechi Eze as the third choice behind Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers in the 10.
AM: Jarrod Bowen
With 22 caps to his name, Bowen became a regular attacking reserve under Southgate and was included in his squad for Euro 2024. But despite notching double digits for a fifth consecutive season for a West Ham side verging on relegation, his performances have not inspired to the same level as a couple of years ago, when he was being touted as the potential successor to Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. Noni Madueke has been preferred as right-sided back-up to Bukayo Saka.
AM: Cole Palmer
The first of the two marquee attacking snubs. Chelsea talisman Palmer has struggled to the hit the lofty heights he managed in his first two seasons at Stamford Bridge this term, with injuries in part limiting him to just nine goals in 25 league appearances. His quality is undeniable, however, as is his penchant for arriving in the big moments – even though they went on to lose, lest we forget he came off the bench to score a stunning equaliser in England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain, giving Southgate’s side hope after spending 73 minutes on the back foot. He also showed he could handle the searing American heat last summer, inspiring Chelsea to a Club World Cup win. If England struggle for game-changers in North America, the decision to leave Palmer at home will no doubt be further scrutinised.
AM: Phil Foden
To the second big snub. Foden’s place in the England squad had been under threat after finding himself struggling for minutes at Manchester City, but Tuchel seemed to offer some assurance to the 25-year-old by repeatedly making the point that he saw him as an alternative to his free-scoring captain Harry Kane. Then, in England’s final game before selection – a friendly against Japan in March – injury to Kane handed Foden an audition in this false-nine role. He underwhelmed and was hooked before the hour. Without a clear role and out of form, a man who was named Premier League player of the season just two years ago will not go to the World Cup.
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Nobody would have pegged Calvert-Lewin to be in World Cup contention at the beginning of the season, when he arrived at Leeds on a free. But after a sensational campaign in front of goal, notching 14 to lead his club to survival, a call-up wasn’t out of the question – especially after being included in Tuchel’s bumper 35-man squad for the March internationals. The dream was very much alive, until Al-Ahli frontman Toney – without a call-up since last summer – was drafted in to fill the third striker spot.
