Cole Palmer not in England’s World Cup squad (Image: Getty Images)
Cole Palmer has been labeled a “failure” after failing to make England’s World Cup squad. Manager Thomas Tuchel ruthlessly left out Palmer and Phil Foden, declaring he would not select players purely based on name and reputation. However, Tuchel insisted there was plenty of creativity within his 26-man squad, despite sacking so many talented players and England appearing to be decidedly lacking in imagination, flair and quality.
England boast a versatile striker in Harry Kane, but supporters will be left wondering who will create his chances. Three Lions boss Tuchel was particularly keen to explain why Palmer and Foden were left out despite their outstanding performances at the last Euros.
“I think he (Palmer) has suffered, first of all, from a lack of personal form within the club. Throughout the whole season he hasn’t been as decisive or as influential as he was last season. Secondly, he hasn’t had as much influence against us,” Tuchel said.
“His performance with us has never been outstanding, it hasn’t been good enough to make you think, ‘No matter what, he’s coming.’ That’s just the reality.
“He had to withdraw a lot, he had to withdraw a lot, he had injuries, he didn’t make as much of an impact when we were in camp as we all wanted him to.
“I think it’s his personality that allows him to remain calm and decisive in important situations, but you also need to be fit for those moments and you need to have an influence within this group, and he hasn’t been able to prove that on a consistent level.
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Manager Thomas Tuchel kept some big names back home (Image: Getty Images)
“Obviously it was one of the most difficult calls and obviously one of the most prominent names we left out.
“But I refuse to bring in players for the sake of name, and I refuse to make them play out of position just to give them something. I prefer to make the tough decisions up front and digest them before pushing everyone else.”
Tuchel also directly addressed Foden’s absence, saying: “With Phil it’s a little different because Phil was great for us in camp. He was great not only in training but also in off-training. He was open and energetic.
“And it actually hurt to call him and tell him this decision. You could see by his reaction how much it affected him and how much this decision meant to him.”
“But I think similar to Cole, especially Phil, he lost momentum in key moments of the season and basically in the second half of the season, we’ve seen glimpses of it here and there, but there wasn’t a lot of evidence.
“In the end, I didn’t even know what his best position was. Is it a No. 10? Or is it a false No. 9? Maybe in the future he’ll be closer to Bernardo Silva’s role as a No. 8? It just doesn’t make sense to me to bring in players and have them play out of the position they bring them into camp.”
Tuchel believes midfielders Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson are more than capable of sparking moments of brilliance, although he admits there is a lack of creative options in his squad.
Tuchel added: “I think Elliott and Declan can do something very special. I think Reece James can create some very special moments from the right-back position.”
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