Redemption call? Tuchel ready to bring back the man he snubbed for the World Cup
The most controversial decision of Thomas Tuchel's England tenure could be about to be undone, by the very man who made it.
Details: Thomas Tuchel is considering recalling Cole Palmer to the England squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, The Guardian reports. The Chelsea playmaker, sensationally left out of the 2026 World Cup squad, could return as early as tomorrow, when Tuchel names his group at 10am. England open their campaign against Spain at Wembley on September 26.
Few club-to-country relationships have been dissected like Tuchel and Palmer. The German left the Chelsea talisman, then 14 caps into his England career, out of the World Cup squad, defending the call even as the decision dominated the summer's discourse. Palmer's response was to keep producing once fit again, shrugging off a groin problem suffered in a warm-up earlier this month to force his way back into the conversation. Now the Nations League offers the natural re-entry point, and reports suggest Palmer could be joined by uncapped faces such as Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha as Tuchel refreshes a group that lost the World Cup final in July. For Palmer, who turns 25 this year and remains one of the Premier League's most productive creators when healthy, a recall would close the book on the strangest exclusion of the Tuchel era. The answer arrives tomorrow morning.
It's worth noting that England's Nations League campaign also includes a second fixture away to Belgium on September 28, giving Palmer potentially two matches to mark his return.
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Miguel Solomons
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