The snubbed England XI after Thomas Tuchel confirms World Cup squad

It’s safe to say that Thomas Tuchel raised some eyebrows as a number of big names were omitted from his 26-man England squad heading to the World Cup. While Ivan Toney snatched the headlines with his shock call-up, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were among the high-profile absentees, with intense competition in creative positions seeing the pair pay for their mixed club form this season. Harry Maguire was particularly vocal about his own omission, taking to social media to say he was “shocked and gutted” to learn the news that he would had not been selected to participate at a third World Cup.

With the Three Lions bidding to end 60 years of hurt across the Atlantic this summer, there will be a wealth of English talent watching from home - to the point where Tuchel basically has an entire team of established internationals waiting in reserve. Here’s an XI of England stars not selected for this summer’s World Cup: Formation: 4-2-3-1 GK: Nick Pope While never making an appearance, Newcastle stopper Pope has long been Jordan Pickford’s understudy and was named in both of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squads, first in Russia in 2018 before also finding himself on the plane to Qatar four years ago. He’s fallen down the pecking order under Tuchel, however, who has preferred Dean Henderson and James Trafford as back-ups.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold Trent Alexander-Arnold has missed out on recent England squads (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Archive) Alexander-Arnold has endured an imperfect first season since swapping boyhood club Liverpool for Real Madrid last summer, something which hasn’t helped him win favour with a manager who never looked particularly keen on his defensively-vulnerable profile. The 27-year-old has two World Cup campaigns under his belt, while also featuring at Euro 2024, but hasn’t been named in an England squad since June 2025 despite his creative qualities. CB: Levi Colwill Colwill was in a frantic race against time to win over Tuchel having spent almost the entirety of the season sidelined with a serious knee injury.

He only made his first Chelsea appearance of the campaign on 4 May, coming off the bench in a 3-1 loss to Nottingham Forest. It was a testament to his talent that he was even in contention given how his 2025/26 has panned out, but Tuchel opted for other options. CB: Harry Maguire Harry Maguire was “shocked and gutted” to be left out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad (PA Wire) Known for his solidity at international tournaments over the years, veteran Maguire hoped he’d done enough to force himself into Tuchel’s squad after experiencing something of a club career renaissance at Manchester United this term, which saw him rewarded with a contract extension.