'Very difficult decisions': Thomas Tuchel confirms England squad for the 2026 World Cup

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Thomas Tuchel has named his England squad for this summer’s World Cup, handing a shock callup to Ivan Toney, picking Djed Spence over the exiled Trent Alexander-Arnold and, as expected, finding no space for Harry Maguire, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. Subscribe to Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball?sub_confirmation=1 Tuchel, charged with leading England to glory in Canada, Mexico and the US, called players about his plans on Wednesday and Thursday and confirmed his selection on Friday. “I think from day one we were very clear we were trying to select and build the best possible team,” Tuchel said. “It is not necessarily to select the most talented 26 players. Teams win championships.” England’s final World Cup squad confirmed: Spence and Toney in, Alexander-Arnold out ► https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/22/england-world-cup-squad-announced-thomas-tuchel-spence-toney-palmer-alexander-arnold-foden The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Guardian Football Weekly: https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian_footballweekly https://www.instagram.com/guardian_footballweekly/ Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/sport.theguardian.com Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardian_sport/ The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theGuardian Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianAustralia Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport #thomastuchel #england #worldcup #englandsquad #fifaworldcup #football