England boss Thomas Tuchel has expressed surprise at Harry Maguire’s emotional public reaction to his World Cup snub.
On the eve of Tuchel revealing his 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament, furious Manchester United defender Maguire vented his annoyance at being left out, saying he was “shocked and gutted”.
The 33-year-old’s mother Zoe called the decision “disgraceful” and said she was “absolutely disgusted”.
“I was a bit surprised (at Maguire’s statement) but I respect his personality a lot, I respect his quality a lot, he had an outstanding season,” Tuchel said during Friday’s squad announcement at Wembley.
“I can see his 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.”
Maguire, who has 66 caps, was a key member of England’s 2018 and 2022 World Cup squads under former manager Gareth Southgate.
The 33-year-old did not play a single minute of his country’s qualifying campaign for the upcoming competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico, before featuring in March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
“I was confident I could of (sic) played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had,” he wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
“I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.”
Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah and John Stones are the centre-back options in Tuchel’s squad.
“The decision is that we stood firmly with our central defenders that carried us through September, October and November,” continued Tuchel.
“Some of them are part of a leadership group that took ownership and set the standards high.
“It was a decision for these 26 players, even if it feels that it’s against individuals.”
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