It's not about the injury. Tuchel explains why he didn't even plan to call up Maguire to the England squad

The head coach of the England national team, Thomas Tuchel, explained why Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was not in his plans for the opening matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

According to Tuchel, Maguire's form was far from the condition required for a national team call-up.

Quote: "It was an obvious decision. We chose Guehi and Konsa. At the moment, I think they are in slightly better rhythm and deserve to be with us. Two right-footers in the center of defense, while the others are left-footers in the center of defense.

The second reason was that Harry was out of form when we were finalizing the candidates. It was assumed he could play, but I didn't want to take the risk of calling up a player we would then have to care for... It's always necessary to assess whether he can complete a full training session or half a session.

Harry took it incredibly well. He messaged me to wish us luck, and you see what kind of person he is. He's a great guy and will always be in the fight," Tuchel said.

Reminder: The former Manchester United captain has been struggling with a calf injury, and his return is expected soon.

As for the England team, after two rounds of qualifiers, Thomas Tuchel's team has two victories and a 100% point record.

Incidentally, in yesterday's match against Latvia (3:0), Reece James scored his debut goal for the "Three Lions" with a magnificent free-kick.