Thomas Tuchel has left Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold out of England's World Cup squad. Not rested, not rotated — left out. It's a statement of authority from a manager who clearly isn't interested in picking names.
Harry Maguire is also absent, alongside Jarrod Bowen, Morgan Gibbs-White, Adam Wharton, Luke Shaw and Lewis Hall. It's a long list of players who would walk into most international squads and won't be boarding a plane to North America this summer.
The shock inclusion is Ivan Toney. The striker has played seven minutes of international football since Euro 2024, but 32 goals in 32 Saudi Pro League games for Al-Ahli apparently made that irrelevant. He told Sky Sports back in February he still believed he could make it. Tuchel agreed.
The Palmer-Foden decision will define this squad
Dropping one of Palmer or Foden would have raised eyebrows. Dropping both is a genuine signal that Tuchel sees England's No.10 pool differently to everyone else. Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers are in. Eberechi Eze is in. Kobbie Mainoo is in. Tuchel has clearly decided he wants runners and pressers in behind Kane, not two creators competing for the same zone.
Whether that's right won't be known until June. But England's forward line odds — and the likelihood of fluid, attack-minded football — just shifted considerably based on this selection. A front line of Kane, Toney, Saka, Rashford, Gordon and Madueke is physical and direct. It is not what Palmer and Foden represent.
Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett called it the most bizarre England squad announcement in four tournaments. Hard to argue.
England's World Cup schedule
The squad departs for the United States on June 1, based at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. Warm-up matches against New Zealand (June 6) and Costa Rica (June 10) precede their Group Stage opener against Croatia on June 17.
The full 26-man squad:
- 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
Tuchel has made his choices. Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold are watching from home.
