By Thursday night twenty-one names had leaked. Maguire was on social media Friday morning posting that he was “shocked and gutted” before Tuchel had said a word publicly. Then Maguire’s mum got involved. Then his brother. Tuchel had spent the two days before the announcement calling around fifty players himself to tell them directly, which most managers do not do, and it still came out in pieces on Twitter before the Wembley film had even started.
The announcement itself was a whole production. Official England app. The Beatles. A film. Tuchel’s 26 names appearing one by one. Foden not there. Palmer not there. Trent not there. Toney, who has spent the past year playing in Saudi Arabia, there. Sky Sports called it probably the most shocking England squad since 1998. That line is doing a lot of work given some of the squads in between.
THE SQUAD
For a full breakdown of every nation’s squad as they are confirmed heading into June, our World Cup 2026 squad tracker is updated daily and covers all 48 nations alongside England.
THE BIG CALLS
Foden is not going to the World Cup. Palmer is not going to the World Cup. Both in their mid-twenties. Both among the most technically gifted English players around. Both left at home by a manager who has watched them play and decided they are not what he needs this summer. Tuchel has said it publicly and repeatedly: he needs pressing, defensive tracking, both phases from every player in his system. Foden barely touched the ball against Japan in March before being substituted. Palmer gave it away for the goal. Neither of those things are things Tuchel forgets.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has never been selected by Tuchel. Not once. The best creative right-back in the world, the player more England fans wanted in the squad than any other, left at home for reasons Tuchel has never fully explained in public. The shape of the squad tells you why. Tuchel does not use right-backs as playmakers. Reece James, back fit after another injury-disrupted season, is his pick. James started the FA Cup final for Chelsea and convinced Tuchel he was ready.
Ivan Toney is in the squad despite playing for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia since last summer. He has not been in an England squad since the 2024 European Championship. Tuchel’s explanation is physical: a target man who can hold the ball when the press breaks down, give England somewhere to play, reset the game. Solanke had a strong second half of the season at Spurs and it was not enough.
Rashford is back. Eight goals and seven assists at Barcelona under Hansi Flick. He missed Euro 2024 entirely. Tuchel has watched what Flick did with him and decided the player who emerged from that revival is worth a place in his 26. He will not start against Croatia but he offers something different from the bench that Tuchel clearly felt was worth including.
Djed Spence over Trent Alexander-Arnold is the selection that will be debated longest. Spence has had a solid season at Spurs. Tuchel cited his versatility across both flanks as a key factor. The message is clear enough. Tuchel wants athletic, disciplined wide defenders who track back. He does not want creative players in wide defensive positions. Whatever you think of that approach, it is consistent with every squad he has named since January 2025.
Jordan Henderson at 35, at his fourth World Cup, equalling Bobby Charlton’s England record. He is at Brentford. He is not going to start against Croatia. But Tuchel values experience in a squad environment and Henderson has been in three previous tournaments. The reading of the game and the dressing room influence are the factors.
WHO MISSED OUT
THE RECORDS
Kane has now been to three World Cups, which puts him level with Billy Wright across the 1950, 1954 and 1958 tournaments. Jordan Henderson at 35, playing Championship-adjacent football for Brentford, is going to his fourth, which equals Bobby Charlton. Read that sentence again. Fourth World Cup. Bobby Charlton. Jordan Henderson. Pickford, Stones and Rashford are all at their third.
The flip side is how many in this squad are going to their first. Reece James, despite years of being one of the best right-backs in the country, most of which he spent injured. Mainoo, Eze, Watkins, Toney, Gordon, Guehi, Konsa, Dean Henderson. A big chunk of this squad has never played a minute of World Cup football. That cuts both ways going into June 17.
WHAT THIS SQUAD TELLS YOU
Tuchel has picked his system first and his players second. The squad has no room for players who do not press, who do not track back, who contribute creativity but not defensive work. That removes Foden and Palmer. It makes room for Rogers and Eze, both of whom press effectively and contribute to both phases.
The forward line is Kane, with Watkins and Toney as the alternatives. All three are physical. None of them are Foden operating in tight spaces between the lines. If England need a goal from nothing in a knockout game, Bellingham is the answer. If they need a goal from a set piece, the corner routine is the answer. If they need a goal from individual creativity, they are going to have to find another way.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Tuchel has made his calls. Foden at home, Palmer at home, Trent at home, Toney back from Saudi Arabia, Rashford back from Barcelona. Whether those are the right calls is an argument that will run for the next three weeks and either gets settled definitively in Dallas or becomes the thing people cite for years.
Before all that, England fly to Florida in early June for the pre-tournament camp. New Zealand on June 6, 9pm BST. Costa Rica on June 10, 9pm BST. Two games to get the squad sharp and get the formation bedded in before anything competitive happens. Then Dallas, June 17, 9pm BST, Croatia. The opener that the whole thing is built around. Win it and the group opens up. Lose it and the questions about Foden and Palmer and Trent get a lot louder before they get any quieter.
When June 6 arrives and England play their first pre-tournament game in Florida, our guide to the best ways to watch England live this summer covers every option for streaming and broadcast in the UK.