Why Harry Maguire Missed England's World Cup Squad Despite His Form? What Really Happened

A day before the official announcement of the England World Cup squad, many reports revealed players being excluded from the squad, including Harry Maguire.

The Manchester United defender was seen as a regular of the English national team for years and has improved this season under interim manager Michael Carrick. Maguire had a great season with Manchester United, but will not go to the World Cup.

Before today's announcement, Maguire confirmed that he was not selected to the English World Cup squad with a statement online.

Maguire said, "I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I've had. I've been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I've loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players, all the best this summer."

Thomas Tuchel addressed his official England World Cup squad selection and was asked about absentees. Tuchel revealed to be shocked by Maguire's statement but respects the player's intention to express his disappointment.

Tuchel said, "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."

Why Harry Maguire May Have Missed Out of the England World Cup Squad?

Thomas Tuchel seems to admit that his decisions on the England World Cup squad are mostly based on the player's performance with the national team, not their performances at the club level.

Maguire has had a positive second half of the season with Manchester United under Michael Carrick. Maguire has started in all of the games he was available for Man United since January 17 against Manchester City.

Maguire also played in England's last two friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan.

With Tuchel's words on the decision on picking the central defender position, Tuchel seems to be more impressed with players like John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, and Marc Guehi, who were playing in World Cup qualifiers in September, October, and November.

This assumption could be proven once again when Tuchel selected Djed Spence over other fullbacks like Lewis Hall and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who were either given few minutes or no minutes at all.

Tuchel's England World Cup squad seems to be based mostly on selected players in previous camps who impressed him the most in the past months under his tenure since the start of 2025.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:16 AM.