Although Chelsea’s Cole Palmer is one of the most gifted footballers on the planet, it feels like his place in the England XI is far from guaranteed.
In 2025, Thomas Tuchel’s England’s team have played eight matches, qualifying for next year’s World Cup in the process. However, Cole Palmer has only featured once in that time, largely because of injury problems.
The Chelsea attacking midfielder only has 12 senior caps for the Three Lions and is still waiting to nail down a permanent starting position for his country.
If you want a scale of how much competition he faces, Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Manchester City’s Phil Foden were both overlooked during October’s international break. Instead, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze starred for England.
Palmer’s current groin injury ruled him out for the latest set of internationals. If he wants to be starting for England at the 2026 World Cup, he’s fast running out of time to force his way into Tuchel’s preferred line-up.
Thomas Tuchel and Cole Palmer in conversation during an England international camp.
Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Paul Gascoigne and Martin Keown agree on Cole Palmer
According to former players Paul Gascoigne and Martin Keown, Chelsea’s Palmer is one of the few England stars who can provide individual brilliance with the ball at their feet.
When discussing the current England team, Gascoigne said: “It’s all about passing now. I’d like to see a player get the ball and have a go.”
Keown replied: “Cole Palmer does that, though, doesn’t he?”
Gascoigne agreed: “Yeah he does.”
Keown commented: “He bucks the trend. He’s like, ‘Ok, I know we’ve got to pass it, but I’m going to run with it.'”
Finally, Gascoigne added: “And I like [Phil] Foden. He’ll have a little go. We’ve got quite a few individual players.”
If England can’t find room for Palmer in their best side, Chelsea supporters will be left stunned.
Palmer, who’s been hailed as “amazing” by Granit Xhaka, can dictate any match by himself. He’s proven that on the biggest stages against elite opponents, too.
Stan Collymore’s England suggestion on Palmer is that he should be used on the left wing. However, we would urge Three Lions manager Tuchel to start him in a central number 10 role, where he can pull the strings and score important goals.
England star Cole Palmer dribbling against Andorra in a World Cup qualifier.
Photo by Eric Alonso – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Chelsea players who should be in contention for England’s World Cup squad
It will be fascinating to see how many Chelsea stars end up in Tuchel’s 26-man England squad at next year’s World Cup, where they will be one of the tournament favourites.
Of course, Palmer should be a guarantee in the squad, provided he’s fit. The main question then becomes whether he should start.
After that, Blues captain Reece James feels like a dead cert to be on the plane for England, and the starting right-back position may be his as well.
Josh Acheampong or Liam Delap could be outside shouts if they perform exceptionally well in the remainder of the 2025-26 season, albeit the latter is currently on the sidelines through injury. Elsewhere, Trevoh Chalobah was in an England camp earlier this year, but it feels like he’s quite far down the defensive pecking order.