England head coach Thomas Tuchel has once again looked past Manchester United stalwarts Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire.
The German tactician raised many eyebrows when announcing his final World Cup squad. In addition to omitting the experienced Man Utd duo, he also left Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Morgan Gibbs-White at home.
Tuchel replaces Tino Livramento with Trevoh Chalobah
Just over 24 hours before England’s opening fixture against Croatia, the national team was dealt a heavy blow, with Tino Livramento ruled out with an injury.
The versatile Newcastle full-back’s misfortune could have paved the way for either Shaw or Maguire to rejoin the squad.
But as confirmed by several sources, including The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Tuchel instead opted to call up Trevoh Chalobah.
🚨 Tino Livramento to miss World Cup with calf injury. Not serious but major blow for Newcastle United defender & #England ahead of #2026FIFAWorldCup opener vs #Croatia – 23yo returning to #NUFC + Trevoh Chalobah called up @TheAthleticFC post @Matt_Law_DT https://t.co/5aghFLEYdO
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 16, 2026
The 26-year-old is a Chelsea youth product who has been part of the first team since 2021. He only has one cap for the senior English national team.
Should Tuchel have brought in Shaw or Maguire?
After losing Livramento, Tuchel was expected to call up another natural full-back, as the 23-year-old primarily plays at right-back and is also comfortable on the left side.
Nevertheless, the 52-year-old boss opted for Chalobah, whom he is familiar with from his time at Chelsea.
Chalobah essentially plays as a central defender, but he can also adjust to the right-back role. This was probably the decisive factor that played in favour of the Chelsea man.
On the contrary, Shaw isn’t accustomed to a role on the right side of the backline. However, it should be remembered that the England squad includes Djed Spence, a right-footed full-back/wing-back. In the current setup, the Spurs man is considered a left-back, but his transition to the right side would arguably be smoother than Chalobah’s.
Therefore, Maguire’s latest snub is justified, considering how England needed an additional option in the full-back department, but Shaw could have been a more natural choice than Chalobah.
Michel is a football journalist based in Beirut who has been passionately following Man United for over 20 years. He is a Law graduate and a member of the Beirut Bar Association. In addition to writing for Utd Report, he is also the Head Writer for The Laziali has been a Featured Writer on other websites including Juve FC, and The Cult of Calcio, and Stretty News.
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