Emile Heskey believes that Harry Maguire is the biggest omission from England’s World Cup squad.
Thomas Tuchel caused outrage last month when he announced his 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada - leaving at home Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Maguire.
Foden and Palmer endured difficult seasons, respectively, and their place in the squad was always expected to be in doubt.
Maguire, though, played a pivotal role as Manchester United enjoyed a late-season surge to secure Champions League qualification under Michael Carrick.
The 33-year-old missed out on selection to Euro 2024 due to injury, but was a vital part of England’s run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals as well as the Euros final in 2021.
Maguire, who has 66 England caps, went public with his frustration at not being selected by Tuchel in an explosive post on social media, and former Three Lions forward Heskey admits the decision also took him by surprise.
“Maguire for me was the one that I thought, wow (he has not been selected),” Heskey exclusively told Standard Sport.
“The reason I say that is, in both boxes, he's an asset, and at times, you're going to have to deal with that.
“So for me, that was one of the ones (that surprised me). Foden, I love Foden, but he hasn't had a good enough season and a consistent enough season. Palmer's been in and out.
“And when you look at Morgan Rogers, he's done better than them all and (Morgan) Gibbs-White really. He's one who's scored a lot of goals and has missed out. And that's another player who has won the Under-17s World Cup (with England), with Foden.
“So again, (Gibbs-White is) another player that understands how to win tournament football.
Heskey believes that England will fall short of ending 60 years of hurt this summer and has predicted them to reach the semi-finals, with France favourites to lift the World Cup for a third time.
“I've got them semi-finals,” Heskey continued.
“We've seen it now. We're now getting to the latter stages consistently. At some stage, we're going to be like, yeah, this is the time. I just wonder about the weather, I really wonder about the weather, and then obviously France and Spain.”
The reason I say that is, in both boxes, he's an asset, and at times, you're going to have to deal with that
Emile Heskey on Harry Maguire's omission from England World Cup squad
England have historically struggled to play in the heat at tournaments, and there has been a concerted effort from Tuchel and the FA to combat the weather conditions in North America this summer.
England’s pre-tournament training camp is being held in Miami, as it is expected to be the most challenging weather-wise, as Tuchel’s side look to acclimatise.
Heskey has experience of battling the heat as an England player, having been called up for both the 2002 World Cup, hosted in South Korea and Japan, and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The former Liverpool frontman also spent two years in Australia with A-League side Newcastle Jets, and knows the challenges that England will be posed this summer.
“They've got to try and acclimatise.
“I played in Australia for two years, and that was tough. When I first went there, it was 34 degrees. You're like, what is this? You've just got to acclimatise very quickly.
“Conserve energy when you can. Make sure you're well hydrated because you lose not only fluids but your salts as well, very quickly. So they've got to look at that.
“How do you get those salts back in? It's going to be very, very tough for them. When you come into North America and Central America, they're used to it.
“So, playing in Mexico, the Mexican players are going to be used to that. They're going to acclimatise a lot quicker. Coming off the back of such a long season as well, it's going to be tough.”
While England, who kickstart their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17, will ultimately be judged on the pitch, there has always been a lot of talk about how players manage the downtime at tournaments as they spend prolonged periods away from family and often in remote locations.
Creating a more vibrant, community-led camp was a major part of former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate’s tenure.
His approach bred success, if not trophies for the Three Lions, and Heskey, who admitted he struggled with the downtime between games while on England duty, says Tuchel must try to keep his players engaged as they look to go deep into the tournament.
“In 2010, I think, it was kind of do your stuff and then go to your room. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere, and that could be tough at times.
“We were just sat in our rooms and back to the games and then training. So it wasn't really interactive enough.”
Heskey was speaking exclusively to Standard Sport at a Panini sticker event ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
