Thomas Tuchel picked his England squad, the internet collapsed in predictable outrage, and absolutely nobody was surprised by any of it. The squad had already been leaked the night before — "exclusively" revealed by roughly eleven different outlets and apparently Harry Maguire's entire extended family — so Friday's official announcement at Wembley carried all the drama of confirming a restaurant reservation you'd already been sitting at for an hour.
The loudest noise came from the omissions. Maguire, Cole Palmer, and Phil Foden were all left at home. Maguire called it "shocking and gutting." His mum called it "absolute disgusted" on social media. One of his brothers piled on shortly after. It was a lot of public grievance for a player who, by Tuchel's own implication, ranked fifth in the centre-back pecking order.
The squad that actually made it
In goal: Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford. The back line includes Reece James, Tino Livramento, Marc Guéhi, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Jarell Quansah, Nico O'Reilly, Dan Burn, and Djed Spence — the last two drawing particular criticism from the corners of the internet that are never satisfied regardless. Midfield is anchored by Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, with Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze, Elliot Anderson, and Jordan Henderson filling out the ranks. Up front: Harry Kane leads a line that includes Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, and Noni Madueke.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw, Lewis Hall, Jarrod Bowen, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Adam Wharton were among the others who didn't make it. Every one of them has a legitimate grievance. That's how 26-man squads work — someone always gets cut who shouldn't.
Tuchel isn't bothered, and that's the point
"The best possible team is not necessarily the 26 most talented names," Tuchel said. "We had to leave some extraordinary talents, some extraordinary personalities, at home. If we had picked all these names, some other big five names would have been out and we would be talking about them now."
He's right. In a squad where half the players won't see meaningful minutes, cohesion and character matter. Tuchel has shown no interest in being bullied by reputation — Palmer and Foden, two of the most gifted English players of their generation, didn't make the cut because Tuchel decided he didn't need them. That's either bold squad management or an error that will haunt him in the knockout rounds. There's no in-between.
England's odds of going deep in this tournament don't rest on whether Maguire's mum approves the centre-back selections. They rest on whether Rice and Bellingham can dominate midfield, whether Kane stays fit, and whether Tuchel gets his setup right against better opposition. On paper, this group is competitive. The question — as it always is with England — is what happens when the tournament actually starts.
"I can assure every fan in the country we have 26 players who are 100% committed and know their role," Tuchel said. A large portion of those fans responded by being more unhappy than ever. Some things never change.
