The difficult situation for coach Thomas Tuchel

No national team is quite like England. Instead of announcing the entire squad for the 2026 World Cup, or revealing each player individually, the Three Lions' squad heading to North America this summer was announced in a… elimination format.

Báo Tuổi Trẻ•23/05/2026

Thomas Tuchel - Ảnh 1. — For coach Thomas Tuchel, only a few key players like Kane are guaranteed a place in the 2026 World Cup squad - Photo: INDEPENDENT

The first to be mentioned was Harry Maguire, but not on the World Cup squad list, but rather on the "stay-at-home" list.

How many stars are at home?

Late on May 21st (local time), the British media dropped the first bombshell regarding the England squad list. Specifically, the news that Harry Maguire was not called up. This wasn't just a rumor, but confirmed by reputable news outlets like the BBC and ESPN. A few hours later, Harry Maguire spoke out about his "shock" at not being selected.

What about manager Thomas Tuchel and his coaching staff, as well as the English Football Association (FA)? They have remained completely silent, effectively acknowledging the information to the media as accurate.

Over the next few hours, news outlets raced to add to the list of players "stayed home," all of them big names. The BBC confirmed that Palmer and Foden were also not called up. Goal.com added Shaw and Tomori; and ESPN listed Alexander-Arnold, Wharton, Gibbs-White, Solanke, and others...

The list of those staying home will be incredibly long, but what the British media are hoping for is simply the shock effect on fans upon hearing the news of the absence of the superstar group including Maguire, Foden, Palmer, and Arnold.

No news agency or newspaper has explained how they obtained the information. But the England coaching staff hasn't bothered to deny it either. It's understandable that Tuchel's team informed some of the stars in advance about their absence from the 2026 World Cup. And then that information leaked out.

Why did England have to do it this way, instead of finalizing the squad with a 26-man announcement? At Euro 2024, Germany chose to announce each player individually to the media, as a way to create a sense of excitement. England did the opposite. They announced each player "at home" but unofficially, through the media instead of a formal announcement from the coaching staff.

That may not have been Thomas Tuchel's intention. The German strategist is, generally speaking, just a foreigner living in England. He couldn't possibly maintain good confidentiality within a team, in a footballing culture notorious for its secret reporting, where the media swarms every corner of the national team.

Miserable because of the media.

The way the British media reported on the stars who had to "stay home" clearly reflects the nature of English football: always prioritizing sensationalism and captivating information, but in a negative light. Naturally, negative information will only lead to more heated controversy.

From a professional standpoint, the squad of 26 players summoned by coach Tuchel is indeed controversial. This is evident when Tuchel leaves out superstars and replaces them with less well-known players.

But fans also need to be realistic. Has England ever gone to the World Cup or the European Championship without a squad of superstars? The "Three Lions" are always full of players with the highest market values. But their performances are rarely as expected. Therefore, it's perfectly understandable that Tuchel prioritizes a less well-known squad, but one that fits his philosophy.

In fact, if you compare them individually, each superstar that Tuchel dropped had quite reasonable reasons. Maguire struggled with injuries all season. Foden suffered a dramatic drop in form, Arnold was no longer himself after leaving Liverpool. And Palmer – the football world was perhaps mistaken in judging him a superstar…

The choice of who plays whom is the head coach's prerogative. And the way the English media reacted wildly when they heard that Tuchel had dropped a few stars shows why the "Three Lions" rarely succeed at the World Cup.