Harry Maguire ‘very unlucky’ to miss out on England squad – Wayne Rooney
Former England captain Wayne Rooney says Harry Maguire is “very unlucky” to miss out on a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad this summer.
Manchester United defender Maguire, who played 66 games for his country, was part of the England team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and the last eight in Qatar in 2022.
While injury has ruled Maguire out of Euro 2024, his recent recall to the international squad for March had boosted the 33-year-old’s hopes of qualifying for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
“I think the Maguire thing was the biggest one for me, which was a bit of a shock,” Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Podcast.
“I think if you look at his form, I think Harry Maguire is very unlucky not to be in this game. Maybe [Thomas Tuchel] He thinks he doesn’t want to disrespect Harry Maguire and not pick him up and play with him. I don’t know.
“I’m sure they talked. Big call from the defenders: [was probably] Harry or Dan Burn and Tuchel clearly chose to go with Dan.
“Even the decisions I don’t like, I think I trust Tuchel and him as a manager.”
Rooney, 40, played 120 times for England between 2003 and 2018 and scored 53 goals.
He believes the English boss, who has represented his country in six major tournaments, has largely made the right decisions regarding the number 10 position, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham preferred over Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Rooney said the German’s next test would be to deal with the anger that would arise if Aston Villa’s Rogers was selected ahead of Real Madrid’s Bellingham.
“I think this is a challenge that Tuchel needs to be ready for,” Rooney added.
“I’m sure he’s prepared and if he doesn’t start, I’m sure he knows what will happen from the media, from Jude, from Jude’s family.
“Of course there’s Jude missing camps, but you can’t leave him out of the squad.
“I think Jude will probably be the one to go against what Thomas Tuchel is trying to create for this tournament. He’s a maverick and you have to accept that. You need that type of player in your World Cup squad.
“Jude has his moments, his big moments. We’ve seen that already. So [the] evidence.”
