Maguire ‘Very Unlucky’ To Miss Out On World Cup Spot – Rooney

Former England captain Wayne Rooney has described Harry Maguire as “very unlucky” after the defender was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad for this summer’s tournament.

The Manchester United centre-back, who has 66 England caps, helped the Three Lions reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the quarter-finals in Qatar in 2022.

Although an injury ruled him out of Euro 2024, a recent recall for March’s international fixtures had given the 33-year-old hope of traveling to the tournament across the US, Mexico and Canada.

Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Podcast, he said: “I think the Maguire one was the big one for me, which was a bit of a shock. If you look at him on form, I think Harry Maguire is very unlucky not to be in it. Maybe Tuchel is thinking he doesn’t want to be disrespectful and take him but not play him. I don’t know.

“I’m sure they’ve had conversations. The big call among the defenders was probably between Harry and Dan Burn, and Tuchel has obviously chosen Dan. Even with decisions I don’t like, I trust Tuchel based on everything we’ve seen.”

Rooney, 40, earned 120 caps and scored 53 goals for England between 2003 and 2018. Having played in six major tournaments, he believes Tuchel has largely got it right in the number 10 role, where Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham have been preferred to Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White.

Rooney added that the German coach’s next challenge will be handling any backlash if Aston Villa’s Rogers is picked ahead of Real Madrid’s Bellingham.

“I think that’s a challenge Tuchel has to be ready for,” Rooney said. “I’m sure he’s prepared – and if Jude doesn’t start, I’m sure he knows what comes with that from the media, from Jude, and from Jude’s family.

“Obviously Jude has missed camps, but you can’t leave him out. I think Jude would probably be the one who goes against what Tuchel is trying to create. He’s a maverick and you have to accept that. You need that type of player in your World Cup squad. Jude has moments – big moments. We’ve already seen that. So there’s the evidence.”