harry maguire said Thomas Tuchel told him his World Cup dream was over on a FaceTime call after the England boss left him out of a 26-man squad. Maguire said he was shocked and gutted by the omission, then described the exchange as an awkward one that arrived after a text asking whether Tuchel could speak at about 4pm.
Tuchel's FaceTime to Maguire
Maguire said Tuchel FaceTimed everyone, rather than handling the squad calls in a more direct way. He called the conversation “quite an awkward call” and said, “It is quite a unique way of doing it and it must be quite hard because he can see everyone's reactions.”
The England defender said he answered straight away with his own reaction. “I said straightaway I was really disappointed. I thought I did enough to be in the squad and thought I could have helped and had a part to play on and off the pitch.” Tuchel, he said, told him he had gone with “the four lads who got him through the autumn.”
Maguire's March camp case
The omission carried extra weight because Maguire had been selected for Tuchel's March camp for the first time. He said he did really well in both March games and finished the season strongly with Manchester United, leaving him expecting to be in the squad.
He also won his 66th cap in the friendly defeat to Japan in March, another marker that made the decision harder to take. Tuchel's choice to leave him out of the 26-man squad was one of the more contentious calls in the selection, and Maguire said it left him thinking he had done enough to stay involved.
Maguire and England's future
At 33, Maguire said he probably will not get another chance to play at a World Cup. Even so, he drew a line under any talk of an England exit, saying, “I don't think I would retire from England.”
He has already been in touch with Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jordan Pickford to wish them good luck, and he added: “If I got one more cap it would be worth it.” Tuchel is set to lead England into Euro 2028, leaving Maguire to chase one more appearance rather than another tournament place.
