Manager Thomas Tuchel had to call several players this week to tell them they had not been selected in England’s 26-man World Cup squad, but several reacted publicly.
Harry Maguire and James Garner both started for England against Uruguay in March (Image: Eddie Keogh/The FA via Getty Images)
Everton midfielder James Garner has joined Harry Maguire in expressing his disappointment at not making England’s World Cup squad. Manager Thomas Tuchel announced his 26-man squad for this summer’s competition on Friday morning, but the combination did not include many high-profile players.
Tuchel has made several bold choices, including Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Lewis Hall, Jarrod Bowen, Morgan Gibbs-White and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as Garner and Maguire on his list of players who have been snubbed. John Stones, Dan Byrne, Jed Spence, Jordan Henderson and Ivan Toney were some of the most surprising players selected.
The squad was not announced until 10am on Friday, but Maguire reacted to a phone call from Tuchel the day before. The Manchester United defender, who has 66 caps for Manchester United, said he was “shocked and disappointed” to miss out, a sentiment echoed by Garner.
“Grit is an understatement. I wish the players all the best,” he wrote on Instagram, quoting an Everton post that shared some of Garner’s stats, adding: “Good luck Jimmy. You have shown your quality all season. Your time will come.”
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read more: England World Cup squad live: Manager Thomas Tuchel’s major decision confirmed with 26-man selectionread more: Thomas Tuchel reveals four surprises in England’s World Cup plans
The 25-year-old midfielder earned his first two caps in a friendly against Uruguay and Japan in March, but was left out as Henderson, Declan Rice, Elliott Anderson and Koby Mainu were chosen by Tuchel to play in central midfield.
Germany’s head coach said he personally spoke to all the players who were excluded, explained his decision and listened to their disappointment. “It’s a very difficult decision, a painful conversation. It’s difficult for the players, it’s difficult to explain to the players,” he said.
“That’s what we’re trying to accomplish as a team, and we’re trying to name a balanced team. If everyone was selected, it made sense that out of those 55 players, we had to keep some extraordinary talent and some extraordinary personalities in the squad.”
James Garner missed out on the World Cup (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
“Either way, if we were picking all these names, some other Big Five names would come up and we’d be talking about these names. That comes with the job. I like these kinds of decisions, even if it takes sometimes weeks, sometimes months, to clarify the decision. I think they bring clarity. Ultimately, they bring the edge that we need.”
“I try to explain to the players why they could be in camp. Did they do something wrong? No. Could they be in camp? Yes, 100 percent sure. But for some players, it’s just the number of players in a certain position. We didn’t want to play players too much out of position and we wanted to give them a clear role, but that comes with difficult and perhaps difficult choices heading into the tournament.”
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