Thomas Tuchel has left Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home. Three of England's most recognisable names, none of them on the plane to North America.
The Germany manager-turned-England boss confirmed his 26-man World Cup squad on Wednesday and made no apologies for the omissions. Harry Maguire also misses out, as do Morgan Gibbs-White, Adam Wharton, Lewis Hall, Luke Shaw and Jarrod Bowen. The list of household names left behind is long enough to build a rival squad around.
The other side of that coin: Ivan Toney is back. The former Brentford striker has played seven minutes of international football since Euro 2024, but 32 goals in 32 Saudi Pro League games for Al-Ahli apparently convinced Tuchel he deserves another look. In February, Toney told Sky Sports he still believed he could make this squad. He was right.
The Palmer and Foden problem — and what it tells us about Tuchel's system
Tuchel had been flagging for months that he had a surplus of number 10s. Bellingham is going. Morgan Rogers is going. After that, how many more do you squeeze in? Both Palmer and Foden made the cut at Euro 2024 under Southgate, but Tuchel clearly operates differently — he wants clarity in his shape, not an abundance of similar profiles competing for one or two spots.
Still, leaving out the Premier League's standout creative player of the past two seasons is a call that will be scrutinised hard if England's attack misfires in the group stage. Palmer's form this season alone would have walked him into most international squads on the planet.
Alexander-Arnold's omission is a different kind of statement. Tuchel appears to prefer his fullbacks as fullbacks, not as half-measures in midfield experiments. Reece James, Djed Spence and Tino Livramento provide his wide defensive options instead.
England's squad in full
- Defenders: Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Nico O'Reilly, Djed Spence, Tino Livramento
- Midfielders: Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Jordan Henderson, Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze
- Forwards: Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke
England depart for the United States on June 1. They'll be based in Kansas City, Missouri, with warm-up fixtures against New Zealand (June 6) and Costa Rica (June 10) before the tournament opener against Croatia on June 17. Kane to score first against Croatia is already one of the more obvious bets on the board — though England's odds of going deep will hinge on whether this squad, bold and unconventional as it looks on paper, actually functions as a unit.
Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett described it as "the most bizarre England squad announcement I've known in four tournaments." That probably sums it up. Tuchel has stamped his identity all over this. Whether that stamp ends up looking like a masterstroke or a miscalculation gets decided on the pitch.
