Harry Maguire says his World Cup snub came with an “awkward call” after the news leaked before he was told, and he believes he did enough to be selected. The defender also faces a tougher path back into England after Thomas Tuchel named John Stones, Marc Guéhi
Harry Maguire didn’t just dislike the decision. He made sure Thomas Tuchel knew exactly what he thought.
Maguire’s omission from England’s World Cup squad has become a talking point for a simple reason: the defender felt the timing was wrong. and the conversation afterward was anything but smooth. He has now described a FaceTime call with the manager that he called “quite an awkward call. ” saying the most frustrating part wasn’t only being left out—it was that information had already been released to the media before he was properly informed.
The backdrop to the row is also clear. Maguire had returned to something like his old rhythm for Manchester United, a run that helped them finish third in the Premier League. For much of that stretch, he looked like a leading candidate for a third World Cup with the Three Lions.
He had also been brought back into the England fold during the March international break, after not representing his country for almost two years. In that period, Maguire earned his 65th and 66th caps in matches against Japan and Uruguay.
Then came the decision. For Tuchel’s World Cup squad, the center-back options were John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah. Even when right back Tino Livramento was ruled out injured and a center back was needed to replace him, Tuchel went with Trevoh Chalobah instead.
The cap counts made the selection feel even tighter from Maguire’s perspective. Burn (8), Quansah (3) and Chalobah (1) are all arriving with under 10 senior caps. Stones—on 89 caps—is the only defender selected to have played more than 30 times for England.
Tuchel, for his part, said that “credit in the bank” helped earn Stones a place in the squad. He also pointed to Stones’ familiarity with the role; Stones had been Maguire’s partner at the heart of England’s defense at the 2018 World Cup.
But Maguire believes that same logic should have applied to him—and that’s where the tension lands. He says he was aware the decision had already started leaking out before he spoke with Tuchel.
“He FaceTimes everyone. It’s quite an awkward call,” Maguire explained during his appearance on The Rest Is Football, Gary Lineker’s podcast being livestreamed daily by Netflix during the World Cup.
Maguire continued: “Something got released in the media about half an hour before I got told that my place was in doubt. That was the most frustrating thing. It was a surprise at the time. I said straightaway that it was a surprise. I was really disappointed.”
He says the exchange wasn’t defensive or scripted—just direct. “We had a few words. I’m quite a big personality. I’m experienced. It was an honest conversation between us both. He really said that he can’t really give me an excuse. I thought I did enough to be in the squad. And I thought I could have helped the lads out there.”.
Maguire also added what he believed his impact could have been: “I thought I would still have had a part to play on the pitch, and off the pitch as well.”
The comments land at a moment when Maguire’s England future suddenly feels less certain than it did a few months ago. He is more of a traditional defender, and he now faces an uphill battle to reclaim a permanent place now that Tuchel has made his preferences clear through the selection.
Age adds pressure too. Maguire turns 35 shortly before the next major tournament, Euro 2028. With the squad already shaped around different qualities and experience profiles, the room for a return will be smaller—and the margin for error will be tighter.
Still. there is history to point to. and Maguire is not starting from scratch in how he sees his own England story. When Gareth Southgate made him a starter at the 2018 World Cup. Maguire played only five times before the tournament began—yet he helped England break a decades-long slump by reaching the semifinals. He was also there again three summers later, as England reached a first final in 55 years at Euro 2020.
In some ways, Maguire’s current fight is less about one squad and more about what his role represents inside England’s evolving style. For years, he has been part of the definition of an England center-back in the public imagination—one shaped by performance, reputation, and expectation.
And now the message from his side is blunt: he felt he did enough to be selected, he felt the decision came at the wrong moment, and he has made sure the manager heard it—before the story moved on.
Harry Maguire Thomas Tuchel England World Cup squad John Stones Marc Guéhi Ezri Konsa Dan Burn Jarell Quansah Trevoh Chalobah Tino Livramento Manchester United England caps