Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were among the biggest shock omissions from the England squad for the World Cup. The defensive pair were overlooked again after Tino Livramento pulled out of the tournament due to injury.
The 2026 World Cup is underway, but England won’t kick off their campaign until tonight when they take on a Croatia side inspired by Luka Modric.
Thomas Tuchel called up two Manchester United players to his squad, including Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford. There was plenty of surprise when the German coach overlooked Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
The defensive duo played crucial roles in helping Michael Carrick’s side secure Champions League qualification and finish third in the Premier League, but that wasn’t enough to convince Tuchel.
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Harry Maguire shares verdict on Trevoh Chalobah’s late World Cup call-up
England were hit were unfortunate injury news ahead of their World Cup opener against Croatia.
Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento has sustained a calf injury and will miss the tournament. This led to Tuchel calling up Trevoh Chalobah as his replacement instead of Shaw.
Shaw started every Premier League match for United this past season, proving to be a solid mainstay in defence, but he was snubbed yet again by Tuchel.
The 30-year-old would have been an experienced replacement for Livramento given that they both play at left-back, but Chalobah proved to be the preferred option.
“No, honestly, when someone drops out like that, I do believe as a squad that you want to call someone up with the minimum of fuss,” Maguire told The Rest is Football on Netflix.
“No real media attention to it, no disruption to the camp. So I do believe that when someone did get injured, I don’t think that Trent would have ever been called up to come in.
“Because you know the questions and everything will be about Trent when a big game is about Croatia. If you called me up to the camp, it would be about me a lot, Luke Shaw the same because we’ve been to previous tournaments and we’ve played for big clubs. And I think that’s what you want when you’re bringing someone in on so-called standby. No, congratulations to Trevoh. I hope he does well.”
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Harry Maguire wishes Trevoh Chalobah the best of luck at the World Cup
- The Manchester United centre-back understands why Chalobah was selected ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw
- It will be Chalobah’s first World Cup tournament
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Luke Shaw has never been called up by Thomas Tuchel
Shaw hasn’t made an appearance for England since the Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Gareth Southgate was England manager at the time, but Tuchel has never given a chance to the experienced United defence since taking charge of the national team.
Tuchel has preferred younger options at left-back.
It remains to be seen if Shaw will earn another cap for England.
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