Tuchel says Cole Palmer 'misses too many opportunities to impress' as England recall passes him by

Cole Palmer, who last represented England in March, has been omitted from the national squad after head coach Thomas Tuchel said the 24-year-old "misses too many opportunities to impress" following Palmer's withdrawal from the previous England camp with a minor injury. Tuchel made the comments after receiving assurances that Palmer was fully fit and available for England's upcoming Nations League fixtures at home to Croatia and then in Madrid against Spain.

Tuchel described his explanation for Palmer's absence as straightforward and insisted selection decisions would favour players who featured in the last camp, despite reported surprise inside Palmer's camp at the omission. The head coach said he would not make Palmer's exclusion personal and stressed England have sufficient options in the number 10 role. Tuchel added that the squad stuck to players from the prior two-and-a-half-week camp because he was "happy with the two and a half weeks we had together."

Palmer's standing with England has altered markedly since he scored a notable goal in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin, a goal that came when he was widely seen as part of England's future attacking core. He was a contentious omission from England's World Cup squad last summer, with Tuchel's contemporaneous assessment shaped by what the coach described as Palmer's indifferent season at club level with Chelsea and by injury problems.

England debut and overall record underline a stop-start international career: Palmer made his debut in a 2-0 win over Malta in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley in November 2023, has won 14 caps with two goals and one assist, and last appeared in the number 10 role in a 1-0 defeat by Japan at Wembley in March, when he was substituted after less than an hour. Since Tuchel succeeded Gareth Southgate, Palmer has featured in just three of Tuchel's 26 matches.

Tuchel detailed his reasoning in quotes: "We have enough number 10s and we stick to the guys who were in the previous camp, because we were happy with the two and a half weeks we had together. I guess everyone is desperate to play with England and Cole is the same. He misses too many opportunities to impress. It was a long camp but the players in that camp brought something extraordinary." He added: "It's not personal. We will never assume Cole is in the mindset never to come to the camp, but we stick to the guys who were in camp last time. It was excellent. The impact of all the players was immense. We have Josh King as a new player, who can play as a 10 and on both wings." He also said: "Cole is always in our mindset but the competition is on."

Palmer has publicly reported recent physical issues, saying he had played for Chelsea with "discomfort and pain" before the last run of England fixtures that included a 3-2 loss to Spain at Wembley, a win away to the Czech Republic, a Wembley victory in the return fixture and a 7-0 win over Croatia in Rijeka. Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said Palmer was "struggling" in the 3-0 defeat at Brentford and confirmed England checked the player's fitness before selection, saying: "When a player is fully fit he is selectable. When he is not fit we give the national team the reasonable information to decide together. Sometimes it's not good for the player."

Alonso added he had not discussed England with Palmer and that their conversations focused on Chelsea matters: "We have not talked about England. We are focused on Chelsea things, how to help him, how he can become more and more influential. These are our topics to talk. We speak about Chelsea. We have enough on our plate. My impact area is my control area and what we talk about. I am very happy with his quality, with his attitude and the impact he is having with the rest of the team." Palmer's recent form at club level has included a penalty in the 2-0 win over Manchester United that was his 50th league goal for Chelsea in 105 games.

Tuchel has previously made uncompromising selection calls, for example excluding Jude Bellingham from England squads for games against Latvia and Wales in October 2025, and has worked to reintegrate other senior players after long absences. That approach leaves Palmer needing to re-establish his case within a crowded midfield group that now includes Morgan Gibbs-White, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Everton's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as a referenced option, and newcomers such as Josh King and 21-year-old Jobe Bellingham.

Palmer now faces an extended wait to attempt to force his way back into Tuchel's plans; England's next squad will not be named until March 2027, when he may have the opportunity to persuade the head coach to reverse his current exclusion.