Why is Harry Maguire not playing for England at the 2026 World Cup?

Harry Maguire was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup squad despite a strong season for Manchester United.

The German manager faced criticism from fans after the omission of the Red Devils defender.

Getty

Maguire had been a key figure in the Premier League under Michael Carrick since his appointment, aiding United to Champions League qualification.

However, Maguire was hampered by a thigh injury from November to January, which contributed to Tuchel’s final decision.

Despite not travelling with the squad, the 33-year-old has secured a punditry job in the states on Gary Lineker‘s ‘The Rest is Football’ show during the tournament.

How did Maguire and United perform in 2025/26?

It’s fair to say the Red Devils had a campaign of two halves.

After they sacked Ruben Amorim, their situation flipped around, immediately beating Manchester City and Arsenal back-to-back.

Since Carrick took over, the squad climbed from sixth to third, which was impressive after finishing last season in 16th position.

However, statistically the Red Devils always played better while Maguire was on the pitch, securing 11 wins when he featured under the new coach, and only losing once against Newcastle United.

Additionally, while facing his red card suspension against Leeds, it was another rare defeat for Carrick’s men.

Maguire netted two goals in all competitions and contributed with one assist.

Why did Tuchel leave Maguire out?

Despite starring for United this season, Maguire still lost his place in the England setup.

Getty

Tuchel handed the centre-back a surprise recall in March, where he featured against Uruguay and Japan.

After the shock announcement, the German boss was immediately asked about his exclusions of Maguire, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Tuchel said: “Difficult, difficult calls as I respect all of them.

“All of them have been in camp with us, they have been excellent, they all deserved a call-up.

“To reduce the 55 was difficult, sometimes painfully difficult…I felt the emotion on the calls.

“I called all the players who were with us on a camp…a lot of them deserved to be with us.

Getty

“We rely heavily on the group that was with us in these three camps…does that mean the others aren’t good enough, no?

“Some were a positional thing…these tough decisions had to be made before the tournament to not carry them through the tournament and even if it’s painful for some, I think it was right.”

Maguire immediately reacted to the news and exclusively told talkSPORT: “I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had.

“I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I wish the players all the best.”

Alternatively, Tuchel instead chose Dan Burn and John Stones as senior representatives to line up at the back.

Maguire’s England career at a glance

Making his debut in 2017, Gareth Southgate included the former Leicester player against Malta in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Getty

He eventually travelled to Russia for the World Cup and assisted Harry Kane in a 2-1 win over Tunisia in the Three Lions’ opening game of the competition.

He eventually scored his first goal for his international side in a 2-0 win against Sweden in the quarter-final.

He clearly got the bug for scoring in high-pressure matches and netted in the Euro 2020 quarter-final, as they faced Ukraine.

England made it through to the final and met Italy, inevitably taking the game to penalties, with Maguire scoring one but the nation went on to lose 3-2.

His performances during the continental competition meant he was selected for the ‘Team of the Tournament’.

Maguire has surpassed icons John Terry and Jack Charlton to become the country’s highest-scoring defender with seven goals.

The 33-year-old gathered more experience with the Three Lions as he traveled to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

However, it signified his final major international tournament as he was dropped from the Euro 2024 squad after failing to recover from a calf injury.

Instead of being on the pitch in North America, Maguire will instead be a special guest on Lineker’s Netflix podcast.