Harry Maguire opens up on the ‘awkward’ FaceTime call from England boss Thomas Tuchel that ended his World Cup dream.
The Man Utd centre back appeared on the Rest of Football, speaking of the moment Tuchel broke the news to him about being left out of the squad.
There was quite the reaction to him being snubbed, he, his family, friends, and fans took to social media, expressing their surprise. More on that HERE.
“We had a few words.”
Harry Maguire tells @RestIsFootball how Thomas Tuchel broke the news of him being left out of the England squad. pic.twitter.com/U2kRGFXY36
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Talking to Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Joe Cole, he said: “(Tuchel) speaks to everyone, to be fair. So he FaceTimes everyone… Yeah, it’s quite an awkward call…
“I received a text saying can I speak to you about 4pm. It’s quite a unique way to do it. It makes it harder probably for himself to see our reactions and things like that.
“I said straightaway I 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.
“He really said that he can’t really give me an excuse, but I think he said that he’s gone with the four lads that he got through the qualifying in the autumn camps where he felt like they did well during those six games.
“It was tough to take. I did think I would be in the squad after being selected for the March camp under him for the first time. I did really well in both games and then went back to Manchester United and finished the season really strongly.
He continued: “I’m 33 now, so 37 at the next World Cup. It looks far away. So I wanted to go, not just play, but like I told the manager, I wasn’t demanding to go and start the games.
“I’d have been happy to play one minute as long as I was there with the lads. So no, it was disappointing.”
“I don’t think I would retire from England”
“I still feel I have something to offer. There will be a time and a place where I don’t deserve to get picked but I probably still wouldn’t come out and retire.
“If I got one more cap it would be worth it.”
In May, in his squad announcement press conference, Thomas Tuchel said: “I was a bit surprised [by Maguire’s reaction], but I respect his personality a lot, I respect his quality a lot.
“He has had an outstanding season, I can see the disappointment, I can see the reason behind the disappointment.
“Still I was a bit surprised because we had a private conversation and he had the chance to express his feelings which he did and this is fair enough because I can see all the reasons why he could be in the squad.
“But, the decision is that we stood firmly with our central defenders that carried us through September, October and November.
“Some of them are part of the leadership group that took ownership and set the standards high. It was a decision for these 26 players, even if it feels against individuals.”
He added: “I am very confident in the group that we chose of which we arrive with.
“Very difficult decisions, painful conversations. Difficult for the players, difficult to explain to the players. What we’re trying to achieve as a team and we try to nominate a balanced squad.
“If everyone is selected, it was a given that from these 55 players, we have to leave some extraordinary talents, some extraordinary personalities at home.
“Either way, if we picked all those names, some other big five names would have been out and we would be talking about these names. It comes with the job.
“I like these kinds of decisions, even if it sometimes took weeks and sometimes, months to clarify the decisions. I think they bring clarity. At the end, they bring a certain edge that is necessary.”
