Footballers who have been included and left out of England’s 2026 World Cup squad react via their social media.
Harry Maguire was the first to do so, as news leaked out that he wouldn’t be included, fair to say many of his family members also voiced their anger at the decision.
Harry 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.”
Maguire’s family took aim at the England manager Thomas Tuchel, Maguire’s mother, Zoe, said: “You couldn’t have done any more. Hold your head high … Disgraceful.” She added: “Absolute disgusted” in another post.
Harry’s brothers, Joe and Laurence, had their say, with Joe calling it “the worst decision I’ve ever seen” and Laurence described it as a “shambles”.
Maguire’s wife, Fern, has said via Instagram: “Beyond devastated for you. There was nothing else you could have possibly done to prove your worth.
“I don’t need to tell you how admired you are, just a shame you were up against a single opinion. Forever behind you my love.”
Maguire’s sister, Daisy, also posted on IG: “Crazy decision. Keep your head up.”
His Dad, Alan, replied to a suggestion that Maguire deserved to be on the plane, saying via Twitter: “Too right.”
This might possibly be the worst decision I’ve ever seen in my life. No words 😳😳 https://t.co/behgcBvQ6z
— Joe Maguire (@JoeMaguire8) May 21, 2026
Absolute disgusted
— Zoe Maguire (@zoemaguires) May 21, 2026
Harry Kane said: “I am extremely proud to be going to another World Cup. I never take these moments for granted. These are all the things I dreamed of growing up.
“To be able to represent my country for a third time at a World Cup is going to be really special. I can’t wait to be there with the boys and hopefully have an amazing experience.
“I am really proud and thanks to the fans for all the support as always. I can’t wait to see you all this summer.”
View this post on Instagram
Nottingham Forest posted a video of Morgan Gibbs-White’s 24 goals and assists so far this season. He was tagged in the post.
Morgan Gibbs-White also shared a post by Neco Williams, who took to Instagram with a photo of Gibbs-White holding the Premier League Player of the Month award for April. “Jheeeezz”, he said in the caption the picture, tagging his captain and added an England flag emoji.
Former Nottingham Forest player Harry Toffolo also posted on social media, writing: “No Gibbs-White! 😳👎🏼”, as well as a sharing the video Forest posted of MGW’s goal, he said: “Keep posting these on repeat!!”
According to @Ian_Ladyman_DM, Cole Palmer is said to be ‘devastated’ by his omission from England squad.
Cole Palmer said to be ‘devastated’ by his omission from England squad.
Legacy of injuries and a dysfunctional Chelsea season.
Big summer ahead for him now.— Ian Ladyman (@Ian_Ladyman_DM) May 22, 2026
View this post on Instagram
Marcus Rashford: “Today marks a full circle moment for me, from despair to jubilation. Missing out on that EUROs squad helped me grow as a player and a person, and most importantly, gave me a goal to work towards. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I can’t wait to pull on the shirt at the World Cup.”
Jordan Pickford: “An honour to receive the call for my third consecutive World Cup. See you there for the journey.”
Jude Bellingham: “Major tournament number four, World Cup number two. The kid in the last photo would never have believed it! Which is why I never take any call-up for granted. Let alone the call-up that gives me the opportunity to represent my country and my family on the biggest stage.
“It has been a tough year but I feel like I’m in a good place and ready to give absolutely everything for England yet again. England fans, can’t wait to see you in the US!”
Elliot Anderson: “Wow! Something I have dreamt of my whole life. Going to my first World Cup with England is my proudest moment yet. The hard work and dedication is paying off. I couldn’t have got to this point without the huge support from my family. Mum, we are going to the World Cup.”
Dan Burn: “I’m buzzing. I’m glad Friday is here, I’ve known for a couple of days and I’ve not been able to say anything to anyone. I got a text to say he (Tuchel) would call me between four and six so I sat by my phone for hours.”
James Garner took to Instagram: “Gutted is a understatement. Good luck to the boys!”
He posted a photo that listed James Garner’s stats in the Premier League, with Everton writing “Head up, Jimmy. You’ve shown your quality throughout this season – your time will come.”
James Garner via IG 📷 pic.twitter.com/fDR4dOPGFG
— EFC DAILY (@EFCdaily_) May 22, 2026
Newcastle United’s social media admin posted after Lewis Hall, left devastated at not being picked. Hall reposted it via his Instagram story with a praying hands and love-heart emoji.
He also shared a message from footballer Connor Hall, who reposted Newcastle’s post and captioned it “Proud of you always @lewishall_10 with a love heart.
WHAT THOMAS TUCHEL SAID ON THOSE LEFT OUT:
On the absence of Palmer, Foden, Maguire and Alexander-Arnold, Tuchel said, as per Sky Sports: “Difficult phone calls. I respect all of them. As players, personalities. All of them have been in camp, have been excellent.
“To reduce it was difficult, sometimes painfully difficult. Even in the phone calls I felt the emotion. I called all the players who were in camp with us at least one time. A lot of them deserved to be with us.
“In the end we went back to the evidence we had – in September, October, November, the leadership group and the team had very few changes in November… that felt we had a bit of fresh air, younger players who played with excitement, it was a good mix of young and old and brought the best out of the players. We want to recreate that spirit – that’s why we rely heavily on the group that was with us in those three camps.
“For some it was a positional thing and not bring[ing] five No 10s and making them play out of position.”
On players who have missed out: “It is important for me to say that I am very grateful to all the players who have helped us qualify, to the players who have had one of six camps with us. Very grateful and I tried to show my respect and appreciation for what they have done, in telling them in person or phone calls in the last three days about my decision.
“So I called every player that was at least once with us, personally, to tell them my decision, even if it was a painful decision or it was a disappointing message. We believe it has to be delivered from me, I will not go into details of course but I tried to explain and express my appreciation and respect for the player.”
On Harry Maguire’s statement: “I was a bit surprised, but I respect his personality a lot, I respect his quality a lot. He has had an outstanding season, I can see the disappointment, I can see the reason behind the disappointment.
“Still I was a bit surprised because we had a private conversation and he had the chance to express his feelings which he did and 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 and November.
“Some of them are part of the leadership group that took ownership and set the standards high. It was a decision for these 26 players, even if it feels against individuals.”
Tuchel on his squad selection: “Of course you saw our squad selection for the World Cup, which is an exciting day for me and for everyone selected.
“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.
“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.
“We chose a very balanced squad, we chose three goalkeepers, plus Jason Steele. I want to take the opportunity and thank Jason for being brilliant and thank Brighton for being so cooperative and supportive.
“We choose nine defenders for four positions, we chose seven midfielders for three positions and we chose seven strikers for three positions.
“I can assure every fan in the country that we have 26 100% committed players in camp with us, who know their role, who are ready to buy into their role, on and off the pitch, who are ready and committed to the idea of team spirit and being unselfish.
“The squad has a significant number of players that will compete for starting minutes and starting places, that also gives us the chance to rotate on a high level and a significant number of players who carry the sportive responsibility on the highest level.
“We have a huge chunk of youthfulness in the squad. We have six players who have won titles with the under-21s. We have Kobbie, who is still young and has won his titles, we have Nico O’Reilly on top who is young and already won his medals.
“We have specialists with us, specialists for all kinds of different scenarios, when we are leading, when we are chasing a game, a result. We’ve always said we want to be a strong set-piece team, so we have specialists for that and we want to be a strong penalty team, we have specialists for that.”
On people being surprised by the inclusion of Ivan Toney: “Also a bit of a surprise to us [his inclusion], when it came down to all different kinds of scenarios he was back in the picture. I had fantastic feedback from his club coach, who was my player and I have a close connection with him, always fantastic feedback about his role there, about his ability, his fitness.
“We could see that he still collects the numbers, I think he has very special skills that could help us, the situations, scenarios when we are chasing a result. I think he can be a very valuable addition to Harry Kane, he can be present in the box when we are pushing for a goal.
“He can take attention off other strikers, he has a natural presence within the box, he is a natural finisher, he can help us with set pieces, he is very strong in there. Very good in using his body and not to forget, he is a world class penalty taker. He ticks some boxes that we wanted to be ticked.”
On fearing leaving world class talents at home: “No, I don’t fear because I am very confident in the group that we chose of which we arrive with. Very difficult decisions, painful conversations. Difficult for the players, difficult to explain to the players. What we’re trying to achieve as a team and we try to nominate a balanced squad. 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. I like these kinds of decisions, even if it sometimes took weeks and sometimes, months to clarify the decisions. I think they bring clarity. At the end, they bring a certain edge that is necessary.
“I try to explain for the players the reason they could be in camp. Did they do anything wrong? No. Could they be in camp? Yes. 100% sure. But for some of them, it is just the amount of players in a certain position. We didn’t want to play the players out of position so much and we wanted to give them a clear role and it comes with difficult and maybe hard choices in the build up to the tournament.”
On why Djed Spence was pciked despite being dropped by Spurs recently: “He was excellent in every match he played for us. He suffers from a third change of coach at his club, since then he doesn’t get a lot of minutes.
“He suffers from the situation and is part of the situation at Tottenham. He loves defending, he’s the fastest player in our squad, and he loves defending one-on-ones. That’s what makes him a special full-back for us. He can play both sides.
“Before the March camp, we said ‘You don’t get the minutes (with Spurs)’ if you come here you have to prove yourself again. And Djed and Tino were excellent against Uruguay. That was the decision. I could really trust him.”
Find out more of what he had to say in the video of his press conference further up in this article.
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