Tuchel explains ‘very difficult’ decision to exclude Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold
Tuchel explains ‘very difficult’ decision to exclude Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold Thomas Tuchel says he is “very confident” he has picked the right squad for England at the FIFA World Cup after leaving out Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The trio are some of the biggest superstars in football and have 87 caps between them, but they will not be among the 26 players on the plane to North America this summer . It’s one of the biggest calls by a national team manager in recent memory, although the decision to leave them at home is an understandable one.
Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold have all struggled with some combination of injury, a lack of gametime or poor form this season. They were not the only high-profile omissions, as Harry Maguire, Morgan Gibbs-White, Luke Shaw and Adam Wharton all missed out on inclusion. That led to a lot of “painful conversations” for Tuchel, but the German coach admitted he likes making these decisions as provides “clarity” and a “certain edge” to the team.
Tuchel explains Palmer, Foden and Alexander-Arnold decision “I’m very confident in the group we chose,” the England boss said at Friday’s squad announcement. “Very difficult decisions. Painful conversations.
Difficult to explain to the players. But what we try to achieve we achieve as a team. “If everyone is selected, it’s a given we have to leave some extraordinary players, personalities at home.
“I like these decisions – even if they took us weeks, months – they bring clarity, a certain edge that is necessary. “For some of them it’s just the amount of players in a certain position. We want to give [the players] a clear role.