England boss Thomas Tuchel has explained why he did not call up Harry Maguire for this month's World Cup qualifiers.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Maguire left out by TuchelGerman manager concerned with fitnessInsists Man Utd centre-back remains "very important"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Tuchel selected Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, and Levi Colwill, along with uncapped duo Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah for this month's fixtures against Albania and Latvia. Maguire did not make the cut, with the head coach now providing an explanation that his decision was a difficult one and primarily influenced by recent injury struggles.
AdvertisementWHAT TUCHEL SAID
"I spoke to all of them who were not on the list to give my direct feedback on my decision," Tuchel told reporters. "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."
Tuchel explained that he was unwilling to take the risk of calling up a player who was not fully fit and added: "He [Maguire] was not fit when we did the nomination. It was presumed that he could play but we didn’t want to nominate a player with whom we had to take a risk, and in the first training or second training and constantly need to assess whether he can do a 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 into camp."
Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Tuchel also acknowledged that Maguire’s club situation at Manchester United hasn’t been ideal, as he has often been deployed in a back-three system rather than his preferred role in a back-four. However, the England boss remains confident that the defender will continue to be in contention for future squads.
"Harry knows that. It's not so easy for him at the club at the moment," he added. "He plays in a back three on top of it, but he’s a top professional and he’s very important for England. He took it unbelievably well. 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."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR TUCHEL?
With Maguire still in his plans, Tuchel left the door open for the defender’s return in the coming months, provided he regains full fitness and consistent playing time at United. The German has made a strong start to his tenure as England manager, guiding the team to successive wins against Albania and Latvia in World Cup qualifying matches at Wembley. His next challenges will be an away World Cup qualifier against Andorra, followed by a friendly against Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on June 7 and June 10 respectively.