Key Takeaways:
Thomas Tuchel's decision to omit four of England's most decorated players from his 26-man World Cup squad marks the boldest selection gamble by an England manager in decades.
England manager Thomas Tuchel left Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Maguire out of his 26-man World Cup squad, prioritizing team chemistry over individual talent for the tournament that kicks off June 11.
"The best group is not necessarily the 26 most talented players," Tuchel said, explaining his selection philosophy 18 months after taking charge of the national team.
Palmer was named Best Player at last summer's Club World Cup. Foden has won six Premier League titles with Manchester City. Alexander-Arnold won the Champions League with Liverpool. Maguire's own mother called his omission "disgraceful" and "absolutely disgusted."
England has not won a major trophy since the 1966 World Cup — a 60-year drought that the Football Association hoped to end by hiring Tuchel, a German coach who led Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2020. The Three Lions open their campaign against Croatia on Wednesday.
The omissions have drawn criticism from former players and the public. Alan Shearer, the former England captain, said he personally would not have left out "two or three, maybe four" of the omitted players. "I personally don't see us winning it," Shearer said.
Tony Cottee, a former England forward, said he could not understand the squad selection. "He's gone for German efficiency," Cottee said. "But where are the flair players? Who is going to come on and score a goal or change the game?"
Tuchel's approach represents a sharp departure from his predecessors. Previous England managers typically identified the best players and built around them — a strategy that produced mixed results. The so-called Golden Generation of the early 2000s was undone by rivalries between star names. At the 2024 European Championship, England took a squad full of playmakers but struggled through the tournament as they got in each other's way.
The players left behind reflect a deeper shift in English soccer. A training program called "England DNA," implemented in 2014, prioritized developing technical players comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces. More than a decade later, the country may have produced too many such players for a single squad. For the No. 10 position alone, Tuchel had Jude Bellingham — one of the world's best young players — and Morgan Rogers, the Premier League's Young Player of the Season. He chose not to take more than two players for a single spot.
In addition to the four headline omissions, Tuchel also left out Jarrod Bowen, who had the most combined goals and assists by any England player in the Premier League last season, and Morgan Gibbs-White, who finished second in that same metric.
The last time an England manager made such a controversial squad decision was in 2018, when Gareth Southgate left out several experienced players for the World Cup in Russia — a gamble that paid off with a semifinal appearance, England's best result since 1990.
Tuchel, a 52-year-old from Bavaria who has witnessed his home country lift the World Cup three times, has made clear he will be judged on results, not popularity. "He has to be given the right to pick his squad and pick who he wants," Shearer said. "But if England don't perform, he knows what's going to be coming."
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