Top 11 players left out of England's FIFA World Cup 2026 final squad ft. Foden, Palmer, Maguire

The Three Lions last won the FIFA World Cup in 1966

A man synonymous with leading English clubs to European glory, Thomas Tuchel was appointed England’s new head coach following the departure of Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024. Under Tuchel, England had a stellar campaign in the World Cup qualifiers.

England are placed in Group L of the FIFA World Cup alongside tough teams like Croatia, Ghana and Panama. The Three Lions have had too many near-miss moments after coming agonisingly close to winning top continental and global honours.

The new German gaffer, who is the third non-English gaffer to lead England in the World Cup, is known for never shying away from taking tough calls. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Thomas Tuchel is set to announce a 26-man squad that will be flying to North America in less than a few weeks.

It is never easy to be a coach of a star-studded team like England and narrowing the list down to 26 must have been a difficult task for Gareth Southgate’s successor.

In this article, we take a look at some of the big names who have reportedly missed the England squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

List of the top seven missing players from the England FIFA World Cup 2026 squad

Player name	Club name
Phil Foden	Manchester City
Cole Palmer	Chelsea
Harry Maguire	Manchester United
Trent Alexander Arnold	Real Madrid
Jack Grealish	Everton (on loan)
Luke Shaw	Manchester United
Dominic Calvert Lewin	Leeds United
Morgan Gibbs White	Nottingham Forest
Adam Wharton	Crystal Palace
Levi Colwill	Chelsea
Lewis Hall	Newcastle United

Phil Foden

One of England’s most naturally gifted technical players, Phil Foden, has been totally out of form for the Three Lions and also lost his first eleven spot for Manchester City under Guardiola. In the recent few games, he struggled immensely as a false nine against Japan in the March internationals and failed to impress Thomas Tuchel.

Cole Palmer

England’s ultimate clutch saviour, the icy-cool Cole Palmer, surprisingly won’t be travelling to North America after failing to replicate his terrific stats with Chelsea in an underwhelming campaign. He famously scored the equaliser against Spain in the Euro 2024 finals, but a recent dip in form saw him being dropped from England’s squad.

Harry Maguire

Maguire was the undisputed defensive cornerstone of the entire Gareth Southgate era, and after finishing strongly with United to secure a UCL berth, many were shocked to see his name omitted from the final list. Many feel Tuchel wanted to deploy an aggressively high defensive line, and Maguire’s lack of recovery pace at age 33 makes him a liability. He even expressed his disappointment publicly on X after failing to make it to Tuchel’s list.

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… pic.twitter.com/9X7asAkCFF

— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) May 21, 2026

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Boasting one of the most elite passing ranges in world football, Trent is an icon of modern fullback play. However, he is coming after an inconsistent season with Real Madrid and also failed to impress Tuchel after being relegated to merely a substitute in the national team.

Also Read: Top seven players left out of Germany’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final squad ft. Marc-André ter Stegen

Jack Grealish

Grealish had a fairly decent season as a loanee at Everton. The treble winner with Manchester City, Grealish, last featured for the national team two years ago in a Nations League fixture. Tuchel’s England is built around rapid, counter-attacking transition speed, but Grealish’s greatness lies in slowing down and controlling the tempo of the game.

Luke Shaw

For nearly a decade, Shaw was England’s only world-class, natural left-back and he is coming after playing every single game for Manchester United and despite an impressive, injury-free domestic season, he was not called to the team and hence his exclusion is truly surprising.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Calvert Lewin scored 14 goals in 34 games for Leeds United and played a crucial role in helping Leeds finish way higher than the relegation zone. He has been deployed mainly as a substitute and has always been relegated to preliminary squads, but after a good season with Leeds, there were hopes that he would be called up to the national team.

Morgan Gibbs White

Despite Nottingham narrowly escaping relegation, Morgan Gibbs-White is coming after a stellar campaign with Vitor Pereira’s squad. His exclusion is surprising as he was coming after a brilliant season with Nottingham, registering 18 goal contributions in 36 games.

Also Read: Top six players left out of Brazil’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final squad ft. Joao Pedro & Antony

Adam Wharton

One of the most natural and progressive number 6 prospects England had produced in years, Wharton had six goal contributions in 33 games for Crystal Palace. Many feel he is still too young and lacks experience to represent heavyweights like England in the World Cup.

Levi Colwill

Colwill was initially linked as the prime candidate to take over Harry Maguire’s left-centre-back spot. However, given his lack of playing time after an ACL rupture, he is reportedly said to have not made it to the English team after making just a handful of appearances for Chelsea.

Also Read: Top five heavyweights who can realistically win FIFA World Cup 2026

Lewis Hall

Many expected Hall to slide in as the default young option on the left back position after having a fairly decent campaign with Newcastle United, where he made 29 appearances. But again, he is just 21 years old and may lack that big game temperament to compete in the World Cup.

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