England face Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night, with Thomas Tuchel's side two games away from glory. The squad is packed with talent, but several high-profile players were left at home, including Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Phil Foden.
Cole Palmer: The Biggest Shock
Palmer's omission was the most surprising. The Chelsea star was a key player last season but struggled for form in 2025-26. Tuchel opted for Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze in the No.10 role, with Noni Madueke as Bukayo Saka's understudy on the right wing.
Explaining his decision, Tuchel said: 'I think he suffers from a lack of individual form within his club. He was not as decisive or as influential as he was in the last seasons, throughout the whole season. Second of all, he was not very influential with us. His record with us was just not outstanding, not good enough to make him 'no matter what, he is coming'.'
Tuchel added: 'It was one of the most difficult phone calls and obviously one of the most prominent names that we leave out, but I refuse to bring players for the name and I refuse to then play them out of position just to give them something.'
Harry Maguire: Public Disappointment
Maguire had a strong season at Manchester United and earned a recall in March, but was left out as Tuchel selected Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah as centre-backs, with Trevoh Chalobah called up ahead of him as a replacement for the injured Tino Livramento.
Maguire voiced his displeasure on social media before the squad was officially announced, saying: 'I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I've had.' His family also reacted, with his wife posting 'Beyond devastated for you', his mother saying she was 'absolutely disgusted', his brother calling it a 'shamble', and his sister calling it 'crazy'.
Tuchel responded: 'I was a bit surprised, but I respect his personality a lot. I respect his quality a lot. He had an outstanding season. I can see the disappointment. Still, I was a bit surprised, because we had a private conversation in which he had the chance to express his feelings.'
Phil Foden: Loss of Momentum
Foden's drop-off in form for Manchester City in the second half of the season made his exclusion less surprising. His last Premier League goal came in December, with only three assists since. He has often failed to replicate his club form for England.
Tuchel said: 'With Phil it's a little bit different because Phil was excellent in camp for us. He was not only excellent in training, but also off training. He was open, he was in good spirits. And it hurt me a lot, actually, to call him and to tell him this decision. I could see in his reaction how much it affects him.'
'But I think, like with Cole and especially with Phil, he lost momentum in a crucial moment of the season and basically the last half of the season, we could see glimpses here and there but not a lot of evidence.'
