Thomas Tuchel has named England’s World Cup squad (Photo by Justin Setterfield, Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Today’s major World Cup news has broken as England manager Thomas Tuchel has officially announced his squad for the upcoming tournament in North America.
As expected, one big name to be left out is Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, as had previously been reported by BBC Sport ahead of the official confirmation.
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The 33-year-old posted to social media last night to express his surprise and disappointment at Tuchel’s decision, while his mother Zoe also put out a post on X saying she was “disgusted”.
See below for the full official England squad that will be heading to this summer’s World Cup…
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Reece James (Chelsea), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), John Stones (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)
Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
Why did Harry Maguire miss out on England squad?
According to the Times, there could be multiple reasons for Maguire ultimately failing to make the England squad, with one of them tactical, and the other to do with his mentality.
The report suggests Tuchel wants to play a high line with more ‘mobile’ defenders, so it’s probably fair to say that Maguire wouldn’t be the best fit for that kind of system, though some might argue that he’d still have an important role to play off the field, even if he didn’t make it into the starting XI.
Another issue is supposedly the player’s ego, according to the Times, with the reaction of Maguire and his family perhaps illustrating precisely why there are some question-marks over his character.
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Will England regret snubs for Palmer and Foden?
England will also be without some big names in Cole Palmer and Phil Foden this summer – two elite talents capable of influencing the biggest games.
And yet, you could probably just about argue that they don’t deserve to be included based on their recent form, even if it’s a gamble that could really backfire if the Three Lions look like lacking spark in the final third.
Arguably more surprising are snubs for in-form players like Morgan Gibbs-White and Adam Wharton, whilst old favourites like Jordan Henderson continue to make it in.
Arsenal’s Noni Madueke is also one of the more surprising inclusions after a pretty underwhelming season at the Emirates Stadium, so it seems perhaps hard to justify him being in there ahead of Palmer and Foden, even if they haven’t been at their best.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has also missed out, having suffered a dip in form since leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid last summer.