Winners & losers as Tuchel names England World Cup squad

England squad WL GFX

So there we have it: England's 2026 World Cup squad is confirmed, and it will go down as one of the most contentious of all time. From the outset, Thomas Tuchel has made it abundantly clear that he isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers with his decisions, and he has stayed true to his word with his divisive selections for the upcoming tournament.

A slew of leaks about overlooked players in the 24 hours leading up to the official squad announcement on Friday morning left many people wondering who had actually made it onto the plane, but by deduction it eventually became clear who the German tactician had included in his travelling party.

Standing staunchly by his 'team over talent' mantra, a raft of big names and a number of others who were seemingly deserving of a place in the squad have been brutally left off the 26-strong list, provoking a fierce backlash online and in the media.

"What we're trying to achieve as a team and we try to nominate a balanced squad," Tuchel said in a press conference as he defended his big calls. "If everyone is selected, it was a given that from these 55 players, we have to leave some extraordinary talents, some extraordinary personalities at home. Either way, if we picked all those names, some other big five names would have been out and we would be talking about these names. It comes with the job."

However, it is an inescapable fact that if things go awry for England in North America this summer and they fall short of their aim of winning the World Cup, this will be reflected upon as the moment that things started to go wrong.

GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from a hugely contentious England squad announcement...

Ivan Toney England 07062024

WINNER: Ivan Toney

When the World Cup gets underway on June 11 it will be a year and a day since Ivan Toney's last England cap - a two-minute cameo in the alarming friendly defeat to Senegal at Nottingham Forest's City Ground, which has proven to be the most recent appearance for many others, too. He hasn't been included in a squad since.

And yet, 12 months on, Tuchel has suddenly pivoted back to the 30-year-old Al-Ahli striker to be one of his back-up options to captain Harry Kane - at a World Cup, no less. Ultimately, it seems, a 40-plus-goal season in Saudi Arabia has proven to be too good to ignore, even though the manager had done exactly that for the past year. The player himself has claimed that he will be better prepared for the blistering heat in North America than many others.

Cole Palmer England 2026

LOSER: Cole Palmer, Morgan Gibbs-White & Phil Foden

There was always going to be at least one big call to be made in the No.10 position as Tuchel chose between a clutch of supremely talented attacking midfielders. Morgan Rogers' place was all-but guaranteed, while versatile Jude Bellingham was also a shoo-in, leaving the manager to take his pick from Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Three Lions boss had said some time ago that he wasn't afraid to leave out some of the most naturally gifted players at his disposal, and he stayed brutally true to his word. Despite being the most in-form option, it had long been reported that Gibbs-White was an outsider, so his exclusion isn't all that surprising - but leaving out both Palmer AND Foden is a seismic decision that sent shockwaves through social media as fans were left in disbelief.

In truth, though, neither can have many complaints; Palmer's season has been hampered by injuries, he has barely played for England since Euro 2024 and he is only just starting to look something like the player who took the Premier League by storm in his first two seasons with Chelsea, while Foden has been badly out of sorts for club and country for some time, dating back to the Euros two years ago, when he was ineffective and there were widespread calls for him to be dropped.

Eze, then, is the sole survivor at the end of a solid but inconsistent debut campaign with Arsenal. There will be question marks over the brutal call to leave out the remaining trio, with all of them surely more capable of making an impact off the bench than a number of players who have made the squad.

Speaking to the England app about the attacking midfielders he had overlooked, Tuchel said: "We tried to have a balanced squad and not to bring five No.10s and make them play out of position. Because whom would we do a favour with that? The player? Ourselves? I don't think so."

England v Japan - International Friendly

WINNER: Kobbie Mainoo

Kobbie Mainoo's chances of making England's World Cup squad looked dead in the water midway through the season. He was completely disregarded by former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, who stood stubbornly by his belief that the midfielder was an ill fit for his back-three system. Having considered a January exit, he will be mightily grateful that he outlasted the Portuguese tactician at Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old academy graduate was straight back into the United team under interim head coach Michael Carrick, earning a new contract with his assured displays as he helped his boyhood club return to the Champions League in a resurgent second half of the campaign.

He's won the battle with Adam Wharton and James Garner to claim the final central midfield spot in Tuchel's squad, although he is unlikely to be a starter initially behind Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson.

Trent Alexander-Arnold England

LOSER: Trent Alexander-Arnold

The writing had long been on the wall for Trent Alexander-Arnold, but that will make his omission no less painful - especially given that injuries had seemingly opened the door to him. Ultimately, though, Tuchel snubbed the Real Madrid right-back yet again by picking Tottenham's Djed Spence ahead of him, which follows the decision to tellingly leave Alexander-Arnold out of his bumper 35-man squad for the March international window.

This is a bitter end to a disappointing debut season in Madrid for the 27-year-old, who had joined Los Blancos in a bid to enter the Ballon d'Or conversation. After this latest rejection - which comes despite the fact that Ben White is injured and Tino Livramento will have only just recovered from his own fitness problem - his international future is in doubt, as long as Tuchel is in charge. He hasn't played for his country for close to a year.

From the manager's perspective, it's another big call that will draw serious scrutiny, given what Trent could offer against a low block in an attacking sense with his unrivalled range of passing, but it seems his defensive deficiencies have cost him his place again.

Xabi alonso

WINNER: Xabi Alonso

There is one club manager who will be quietly pleased by some of Tuchel's biggest selection calls, and that is new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard begins work at Cobham on July 1 and will unexpectedly have a full pre-season with all-but-one of his English contingent.

Reece James is the only Chelsea representative included in England's World Cup squad, with Palmer surprisingly overlooked alongside Levi Colwill and outsider Trevoh Chalobah. That's a boost for Alonso, especially given the former's injury problems this season, while Colwill has only just returned to action after missing most of the season with an ACL tear.

After Joao Pedro, Andrey Santos and Estevao were all overlooked by Brazil, that means the Blues likely only have James, Marc Cucurella, Jorrel Hato, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto and Nicolas Jackson going to the tournament.

LOSER: Harry Maguire

It's clear Harry Maguire believed he was a shoo-in for England's travelling party amid his resurgence in the second half of the season at Man Utd under Carrick and after his recall to the squad for the last international break. Tuchel, though, had other ideas.

The centre-back has, ultimately, been brutally left out by the German, who, in fairness, had admitted in March that Maguire was still well down the pecking order and that he 'hadn't changed his mind'. Some reports suggest the player's ego was a concern amid the belief that he wouldn't settle for being a back-up player, while others claimed his ability to play out from the back had been called into question.

Maguire - and some of his family - lashed out against the decision the day before the squad was officially announced - perhaps confirming some of Tuchel's doubts about his suitability for this particular group. "I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I've had," he posted on social media. "I've been left shocked and gutted by the decision."

Nico O'Reilly England 2026

WINNER: Nico O'Reilly

What a season it's been for Nico O'Reilly. The 21-year-old has been the breakout star of 2025-26, chipping in with a ridiculous 15 goal involvements from the left side of Manchester City's defence, and he looks set to cap a fine individual campaign by heading to the World Cup as England's starting left-back.

Lewis Hall and Myles Lewis-Skelly were both shock omissions from Tuchel's squad, either one of whom probably expected to get the call to compete with O'Reilly for the left full-back role, but now the City man will be able to make the position his own, with Djed Spence likely to play back-up.

There is some risk attached to the decision, given the youngster is actually a midfielder by trade; that means there is no recognised, out-and-out left-back in the squad, with Spence more comfortable on the opposite flank. Tuchel will hope it's a gamble that pays off.

Tuchel

LOSER: Thomas Tuchel

From the moment he walked through the door as the new England manager, Tuchel has made it abundantly clear that he wasn't afraid to make unpopular choices if they led him to building a team in his own vision that he believes is capable of winning a World Cup, and he has certainly stayed true to his word with the biggest cumulative decision of his reign to date - one that will define his tenure.

But has he gone too far this time? With hindsight, Tuchel could become the biggest winner of this squad selection, but if things go awry in North America - which, in reality, is anything less than reaching the semi-finals or even lifting the trophy - then fans and pundits alike will look back on the confirmation of the 26-man group as the moment that things started to go wrong.

In fairness to the German tactician, the core of key players that form the strongest starting XI is there, but there are huge concerns over the lack of depth beyond that in the absence of Jarrod Bowen, Palmer, Alexander-Arnold, Gibbs-White, Wharton, Maguire and others - all of whom have the potential to make a significant impact off the bench. The likes of Jordan Henderson, Spence, and Noni Madueke do not inspire as much confidence.

This squad does, at least, avoid the distraction of the fierce debates that have raged around the squad in previous tournaments. It's clear what the strongest 11 is, bar the No.10 role where Bellingham and Rogers may role share. Tuchel referenced "clarity" upon confirming his squad, and his selections mean there will be no clamour for Palmer to start, no calls for Foden to be dropped, no questions over where Alexander-Arnold is playing. That could ultimately be invaluable.