Why Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Phil Foden are not playing for England

England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday night will be played without several headline names, highlighting the depth and tough selection decisions facing coach Thomas Tuchel. With England two games from the final, Tuchel has cut the squad down to 26 players, leaving Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire and Phil Foden among the notable omissions. Tuchel said Palmer’s exclusion was driven by a perceived lack of consistent individual form, adding that Palmer was not as decisive or influential as in previous seasons and did not have the required impact in camp. Instead, Tuchel has favored Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the No.10 role, and has picked Noni Madueke as Bukayo Saka’s understudy. Maguire, recalled for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March, was later left out of the centre-back group behind Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah, with Trevoh Chalobah called up after Tino Livramento’s injury.