Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, two of the Premier League’s most decorated attackers over the past three seasons, are set to be left out when Thomas Tuchel names his 26-man England squad for the World Cup on Friday. The pair, who have a combined 47 senior caps and were central to Gareth Southgate’s run to the Euro 2024 final, have failed to convince the German coach during a qualifying campaign in which neither started a competitive fixture.
Foden, 26, made just one substitute appearance under Tuchel — a 14-minute cameo against Andorra in March — while Palmer, 24, was withdrawn from the most recent camp citing fatigue after Chelsea’s Conference League run. Tuchel is understood to have informed both players of his thinking earlier this week, with Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers preferred in the wide attacking roles.
Why Tuchel has cooled on the Premier League’s stars
The decision is jarring on paper. Foden was named the Premier League’s Player of the Season in 2023-24 and finished the most recent campaign with 19 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for Manchester City. Palmer, despite a leaner second half to the season, ended with 15 league goals and remains Chelsea’s designated penalty taker. Yet Tuchel has been unusually direct about what he wants from his attacking midfielders, and neither player fits the template.
Since taking charge in January, Tuchel has built England’s attack around vertical running, defensive transition work and positional discipline off the ball. In friendlies and qualifiers against Albania, Latvia and Serbia, his front three pressed an average of 21.4 times per 90 minutes — a figure both Foden and Palmer fell short of in club football last season. Tuchel addressed the criteria bluntly in a March press conference, saying he was looking for “players who suffer without the ball, not just decide the game with it.”
There is also the question of system fit. Tuchel has settled on a 4-2-3-1 with Jude Bellingham operating as the central No 10, a role both Foden and Palmer have made their own at club level. Asking either to drift wide has historically produced mixed returns: Foden’s xG per 90 from the left for England sits at 0.21, against 0.48 in his central role for City.
Historical weight of the omissions
England have a long, complicated record of leaving Ballon d’Or-shortlisted talent at home. Paul Gascoigne missed the 1998 squad under Glenn Hoddle. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole were all overlooked at various points by Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello in favour of perceived system players. None of those calls were vindicated in the short term.
The Palmer decision carries particular sting. He was the breakout star of Euro 2024, scoring the equaliser in the final against Spain after coming off the bench in Berlin. No England player has been left out of a tournament squad the summer after scoring in a major final since 1968, when Sir Alf Ramsey omitted Roger Hunt from the European Championship party following his goal contributions in the 1966 World Cup.
- Foden: 45 caps, 4 goals, last England start January 2025
- Palmer: 18 caps, 4 goals, Euro 2024 final scorer
- Tuchel record as England head coach: P6 W5 D1 L0
- England open World Cup against Paraguay in Vancouver on 13 June
What it means for England’s tournament
The selection leaves England with a squad weighted heavily towards energy and structure rather than improvisation. Bellingham will be the lone genuine creator in the starting XI, supported by Gordon, Rogers and Bukayo Saka in the wide areas, with Harry Kane leading the line. The bench is expected to feature Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton as the in-game changers — both technical players, but neither with the box-entering instincts of the two omitted.
Tuchel’s gamble is that tournament football, particularly in the North American summer heat, rewards collective discipline over individual brilliance. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar offered some evidence for that argument: of the four semi-finalists, only Argentina relied on a player operating outside a rigid pressing structure. The 2026 edition, played across 16 cities in three countries with travel demands no European tournament has matched, may amplify the case further.
England begin their campaign against Paraguay on 13 June. By then, the conversation around Foden and Palmer will have shifted from whether they should have been picked to whether their replacements can deliver. Tuchel, for now, sounds entirely untroubled by the question.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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