Harry Maguire has been left fighting for his England future after Thomas Tuchel admitted the Manchester United defender was not selected for tactical reasons rather than fitness issues
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Updated 18:42, 25 Mar 2025
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire's place in the England squad is under serious threat after Thomas Tuchel's revelation that he was dropped from his first England selection due to tactical reasons rather than fitness concerns.
But the new Three Lions boss has revealed that Maguire showed his class by sending good luck messages to Tuchel and the squad after being informed he wouldn't be playing.
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Tuchel delivered the surprising news by stating he axed Maguire for the first squad he assembled, emphasising the decision wasn't tied to the Manchester United defender's physical condition. It places Maguire on shaky ground regarding his role in England's setup for the approaching World Cup.
Acknowledging the tough situation at United, where Maguire is adapting to a back three configuration amidst a team struggling to find form, Tuchel hinted at the centre-back's uncertain future with the national team.
Despite contending with a calf injury, Tuchel disclosed that it wasn't the primary cause for omitting Maguire from the qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. Instead, Tuchel suggested Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa are more in sync with current needs, leapfrogging the experiencedUnited defender who had been integral under previous manager Gareth Southgate.
The 64-cap international might now be facing World Cup heartbeat, reports the Mirror. Tuchel remarked on decision: "It was a close decision.
"We chose Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa at the moment. I think they are a little bit in a better rhythm and deserve to be with us.
"Two right footers in central defence and the rest were left footers in the centre of defence. It's not so easy for him at the club at the moment. He plays in a back three on top of it.
"The second reason was that he was not fit when we did the nomination. It was presumed that he can play.
"But we didn't want to nominate a player who we had to take a risk on and in the first training or second training we constantly need to assess whether he can do full training session or half training session.
"We did the same with Reece James and only because of the feedback that he could do every session full was the reason we brought him in to camp. Harry knows that."
Tuchel hasn't closed the door entirely for Maguire going forwards, acknowledging that he handled the decision "unbelievably well" while also extending his good wishes to the team before their matches.
"But he's a top professional and he's very important for England. He took it unbelievably well. I spoke to all of them who were not on the list to give my direct feedback on my decision.
"But he's a top professional and he's very important for England. He took it unbelievably well. I spoke to all of them who were not on the list to give my direct feedback on my decision.
"He wrote me messages to wish us good luck and you see what a person he is. He is a top guy and he will always be in contention."