Thomas Tuchel made an uncompromising defence of his 26-man England World Cup squad by taking aim at Harry Maguire, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

The trio were the biggest-name omissions from Tuchel’s squad and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Morgan Gibbs-White have also been left out. Striker Ivan Toney was the surprise inclusion .

And Tuchel did not hold back in his assessment of why Maguire, Palmer and Foden will not travel to America this summer.

Maguire: Defender’s public criticism ‘not necessary’

While Palmer and Foden kept their reactions private, Maguire – whose England career may well now be over – reacted to his World Cup snub by releasing a statement on Thursday saying he was “shocked and gutted”. The defender’s mother Zoe described herself as being “absolutely disgusted”.

Maguire’s wife Fern joined the backlash on Friday by posting a message on Instagram that said: “Beyond devastated for you. There was nothing else you could have possibly done to prove your worth.…