Harry Maguire revealed that Thomas Tuchel told him his World Cup dream was over on a FaceTime call that he described as awkward, after receiving a text asking to speak at about 4pm. "He FaceTimed everyone. It was quite an awkward call," Maguire said, adding that the omission had already been leaked to the media before Tuchel personally informed him.
Maguire said he was "shocked and gutted" and that he "was really disappointed. I thought I did enough to be in the squad and thought I could have helped and had a part to play on and off the pitch." The centre back pointed to a revival in form that began with his March recall — he won his 65th and 66th caps against Uruguay and Japan during that international break, and said he "did really well in both games" — and continued with a strong finish after returning to Manchester United.
Tuchel left Maguire out of the 26-man World Cup squad and instead named John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah as his centre-back options. When Tino Livramento was ruled out injured, Tuchel chose Trevoh Chalobah rather than adding another natural centre back to the roster.
Those selections underline the competitive picture Maguire walked into. He had not represented England in almost two years before the March recall, he is 33 years old and had just re-established himself with club and country; Manchester United finished third in the Premier League and Maguire said he had "finished the season really strongly." Tuchel has defended his choices by saying that Stones had "credit in the bank" and by favouring the players who saw him through the autumn.
The clearest friction in Maguire's account is between his belief that he had done enough and the manager's preference for continuity. "He said he can't give me an excuse but he had gone with the four lads who got him through the autumn," Maguire recounted. That answer, he said, felt thin to a player who had returned to the international picture and who believes he could contribute in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.
Maguire also complained about the manner of the news. He said the squad omission was leaked before he was told, his family reacted publicly on social media and then Tuchel's FaceTime call arrived. The sequence left him publicly exposed and privately deflated; he used the word "awkward" for the call and "shocked and gutted" for his immediate reaction.
Despite the disappointment, Maguire has not closed the door on his England career. "I don't think I would retire from England," he said plainly, and added, "If I got one more cap it would be worth it." He framed this as a realistic hope rather than a vow: his international future now depends on future call-ups and on whether managers will again prefer continuity over bringing him back into the fold.
The unanswered question is now practical: will Tuchel or a successor reverse the decision and give Maguire the chance he says he deserves? For the moment, Maguire's account is the clearest public record of how a senior defender with 66 caps was told he would not travel — by a short, awkward FaceTime after a text at about 4pm — and he has left the door ajar for one more England appearance ahead of long-term landmarks such as Euro 2028.
