Former England captain Wayne Rooney says Harry Maguire was “very unlucky” to miss out on a place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad this summer.
Manchester United defender Maguire, who has made 66 appearances for his country, was part of the England side that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and the last eight in Qatar in 2022.
While injury ruled Maguire out of Euro 2024, a recent recall for the March internationals had raised the 33-year-old’s hopes of making the plane for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
“I think the Maguire one was the big one for me, which was bit of shock,” Rooney said on the Wayne Rooney Podcast.
“I think if you look at him on form, I think Harry Maguire is very unlucky not to be in it. Maybe he’s [Thomas Tuchel] thinking he doesn’t want to be disrespectful to Harry Maguire and take him and not play him. I don’t know.
“I’m sure they’ve had conversations. The big call out of the defenders [was probably] Harry or Dan Burn and Tuchel has obviously chosen to go with Dan.
“Even the decisions I don’t like, I think I’ve got a trust in Tuchel and in him as a manager from everything we’ve seen.”
Rooney, 40, won 120 caps and scored 53 goals for England between 2003 and 2018.
And having represented his country at six major tournaments, he believes the England boss has largely made the right calls around the number 10 position, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham preferred to Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Rooney said the German’s next test will be dealing with the potential furore if Aston Villa’s Rogers is selected ahead of Real Madrid’s Bellingham.
“I think that’s a challenge which Tuchel has to be ready for,” Rooney added.
“I’m sure he’s prepared and if he doesn’t start, I’m sure he knows what comes with that from the media, from Jude, from Jude’s family.
“Obviously you’ve got Jude who’s missed camps, but you can’t leave him out of the squad.
“I think Jude would probably be the one who goes against what Thomas Tuchel is trying to create for this tournament. He is a maverick and you’ve got 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.”