John Terry claims at least 11 England players are not good enough to win World Cup

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The Independent

·10 Juni 2026

John Terry claims at least 11 England players are not good enough to win World Cup

Former England captain John Terry has criticised England manager Thomas Tuchel’s squad selection for the World Cup, suggesting that 11 of the 26-man squad were not good enough to win the tournament.

Tuchel has shown himself to be unafraid to make unpopular or difficult calls, leaving the likes of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Harry Maguire out of the squad which arrived in the US last week.

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Foden and Palmer both had underwhelming seasons for their clubs and in the March internationals, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham the beneficiaries of their decline in form.

Speaking on Sports Uncensored, Terry said: “I just think you need to have your best players there. There's only 13, 14 or 15 players that can play if we're going to win this World Cup.

“When I look at the rest of the squad I'm not sure they're going to push the players who are going to be playing.”

Terry expressed his admiration for Tuchel and his willingness to make “big decisions”, but said the squad would benefit from more experienced players, the likes of Maguire and Luke Shaw, in major roles.

He said: “We're looking at [Nico] O'Reilly coming at left back [playing in his first major international tournament]. I think someone like him needs someone like Luke Shaw around the place to help him, settle him, give him a little bit of advice because he is the future of us in our next World Cups coming up. Cole Palmer is the next big decision as well.

“So I think he's got it wrong in three or four big decisions on the pitch, actually. I think you need your best players, the further you get in these World Cups.”

On Maguire, he said: “For me, he's a better player than Dan Burn and now if the other two get injured, whether that's John Stones coming in, I'd much rather Harry Maguire there and be the one coming in. I would have Harry Maguire there every day of the week.”