Burnley FC must love what Wayne Rooney doesn’t about Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad | OneFootball

The England great has made a rather intriguing claim on Kyle Walker

England's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign so far has been far from flawless, and that was demonstrated in a nerve-wracking encounter but eventual 2-1 win against DR Congo at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas Tuchel oversaw an unbeaten trio of Group L matches against Croatia, Ghana and Panama beforehand, but it is fair to say that two of those performances were still heavily criticised despite the accumulation of seven points from a possible nine.

However, there was a belief that the Three Lions, as they had previously shown in UEFA Euro 2024 under former Middlesbrough boss, Gareth Southgate, would grow stronger in terms of their performance levels later in the tournament.

Those hopes were somewhat dashed early on against the Africans, though, when Brian Cipenga was given ample time and space to drill a fizzing effort past Jordan Pickford, before the country's all-time leading goalscorer, Harry Kane, came to the rescue with two strikes of his own in the final 15 minutes - the second of which was an incredible effort from the edge of the box past the previously resolute Lionel Mpasi.

England now have four days to prepare for the many challenges they will face against Mexico, at the Azteca Stadium of all venues, and while many are discussing the effects high altitude will have on Tuchel's 26-man squad, there continues to also be a debate around the defence at his disposal, particularly at right-back.

Wayne Rooney believes Burnley FC's Kyle Walker should have made England's World Cup squad

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Indeed, England's main issue has been in the defensive department, and it started well in advance of the opening match against Croatia in Dallas on June 17th, with former Southampton and current Newcastle United defender, Tino Livramento, suffering a calf injury which ended his hopes of featuring on the World Cup stage.

Reece James then started, and finished, the first two games, performing to a relatively strong degree before suffering a hamstring issue and missing the victories over Panama and DR Congo.

Jarrell Quansah then twisted his ankle in the former of those games, meaning Djed Spence, who has become the subject of in-game frustration from Tuchel, started in the first knockout game before being replaced by Eberechi Eze on 70 minutes, leaving Declan Rice to fill such a void in a makeshift capacity.

As such, it has become a hot topic of discussion as to why Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold was, once again, overlooked by the England boss, and after the full-time whistle, former Three Lions great, Wayne Rooney, believes Kyle Walker should have been left on standby instead of Trevoh Chalobah, who was called up in place of Livramento.

Walker, 36, was relegated from the Premier League with Burnley last season, but can still boast the experience of five major tournaments, as well as featuring in the UEFA Euro 2020 and 2024 final defeats against Italy and Spain.

“I think the minute Livramento got injured, I think he should have been right on the phone to Kyle Walker,” claimed Rooney.

“Kyle is still more than good enough and more than capable of playing in this England team, so I would have been on the phone to him saying: ‘listen, we need you here. Can you come out and help us?’ because that could really cost us.”

Burnley FC could see Kyle Walker's England omission as a blessing ahead of Championship season

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Walker still played 36 of the Clarets' 38 Premier League outings last term, and was named captain for half of those games, showcasing the trust which was put in him by former boss, Scott Parker and interim head coach, Michael Jackson, following the exit of his former England teammate in April.

The right-back has since responded to Rooney's claims, revealing that he was, rather understandably, 'flattered', but sticks by his decision to retire from international football, which was announced on March 10th.

He also admitted that it is "sod's law" that James and Livramento have suffered injuries, while claiming that Alexander-Arnold's own omission was somewhat surprising and that he, himself, could have maybe believed a sixth tournament was on the horizon a bit more.

However, while current developments at Turf Moor are far from rosy with Parker's successor still yet to be confirmed, Walker has started pre-season training at the club despite intense speculation over his own future.

He revealed after relegation that he would "honour" his two-year contract, and, therefore, supporters of the Championship side may see it as a blessing for their own chances of promotion that he opted to retire from England duty.

The Sheffield-born defender hasn't featured in the Championship for 15 years, but will be fully aware of the demands placed on players throughout the 46-game campaign, and one which could go well into the 50-plus bracket in all competitions.

It does remain to be seen how many of those games Walker plays a full 90 minutes in, or starts altogether, but having an undisrupted pre-season means the chances of said tally being higher are likely to be enhanced, so long as any injury and fitness issues are avoided.