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It’s fair to say there were a few fans exhibiting feelings of disgruntlement when England boss Thomas Tuchel announced his squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, for one, was left “shocked and gutted” by his omission, having been included by the German head coach for the previous March international camp.
Another eyebrow-raiser was the inclusion of 35-year-old Jordan Henderson, who has started just over half of Brentford’s games in the Premier League this season.
Adam Wharton performance raises questions for Thomas Tuchel
We all know that for a perfect international squad, a mix of experience and youthfulness is required – Henderson adding plenty of the former, with his 88 Three Lions caps – but he hasn’t appeared in a major international tournament since 2022, left out by Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.
However, it’s less about what Henderson can offer and more about the talent that his taken seat leaves peering through the plane window.
Watch the Eagles soar 🦅Jean-Philippe Mateta with a priceless goal to give Crystal Palace the lead 🔥📺 TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/ZZ3KZ1wI8DMay 27, 2026
One of the key names among the jilted crew is, of course, Adam Wharton, whose performance for Crystal Palace in the Conference League final won’t make Tuchel’s decision any easier to justify.
Across the 90 minutes at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig against Rayo Vallecano, the 22-year-old ran the midfield, completing the vast majority of his passes – many of them into the final third – winning duels, and seeing himself dispossessed just once.
To top off a fine performance, it was the former Blackburn Rovers man who opened up the space to take a shot from outside of the box, forcing Augusto Batalla to parry into the path of goalscorer Jean-Philippe Mateta.
“That’s just part of football. It was never a guarantee I was going to go [to the World Cup],” Wharton said of his England omission after the full-time whistle. “I’m not going to sit here and cry about it.
“I don’t really dwell on them things too much. It’s not the end of the world, I’m still young. Hopefully there’s other tournaments and World Cups that I can go to in the future.”
"I'm not going to sit here and cry about it" 🗣💬Adam Wharton speaks about missing out on the England squad for the World Cup ❌ pic.twitter.com/pOarsni769May 28, 2026
It’s clear Wharton has taken the news better than some Three Lions supporters, but his words in that press conference were uttered with a downcast tone.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, while on current forecasts there will certainly be other opportunities for Wharton, it does feel at present that he’d be more likely to impact England than Henderson.
It feels as though Henderson could perhaps have travelled as a coach or trainer, in a similar role to goalkeeper Jason Steele, and Tuchel could then have had the best of both worlds – presuming Henderson’s minutes on the pitch will be limited.
His contribution remains to be seen at the tournament, but if the Brentford man isn’t used, or is and doesn’t make the required impact, don’t be shocked when Tuchel has to field some difficult questions.
