Thomas Tuchel says he was ‘surprised’ by Harry Maguire and his family’s public outbursts about the England World Cup squad – and admits he prioritised an ‘unselfish’ team over simply selecting the 26 most talented players.
Tuchel made a series of high-profile omissions in a squad that was leaked on Thursday night and confirmed on Friday: Leaving Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw at home.
Those moves have been met by anger from some England fans – and Maguire’s family. His mum said she was ‘absolutely disgusted’ and wife Fern says he is ‘up against a single opinion’.
But Tuchel wants a good travelling group to take to the United States. He spoke on Friday of choosing ‘committed’ players, with ‘spirit’, and who are ‘unselfish’.
‘I think from day one we were very clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect the 26 most talented players,’ Tuchel said.
Thomas Tuchel has spoken out after unveiling his England World Cup squad
Harry Maguire’s wife Fern took aim at Tuchel for excluding her husband from the squad
‘Teams win championships, it is as simple as that. What we are trying to achieve in the summer can only be achieved as a team.’
On Maguire’s specific reaction he added: ‘I was a bit surprised, but I respect his personality a lot, I respect his quality a lot. He had a quality season. I can understand the disappointment. I can see the reason behind the disappointment.
‘Still, I was a bit surprised as we had a private conversation. He had the chance to express his feelings, which he did. This is fair enough because I can see all the reasons why he could be in the squad. But the decision is that we stood firmly with our central defenders that carried us through September, October, November.
‘Some of them are part of a leadership group that took ownership and set the standards high… and it was a decision for these 26 players, even if it feels as it’s against these players.’
More to follow.
