Thomas Tuchel made an uncompromising defence of his 26-man England World Cup squad by taking aim at Harry Maguire, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.

The trio were the biggest-name omissions from Tuchel’s squad and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Morgan Gibbs-White have also been left out. Striker Ivan Toney was the surprise inclusion.

And Tuchel did not hold back in his assessment of why Maguire, Palmer and Foden will not travel to America this summer.

Maguire: Defender’s public criticism ‘not necessary’

While Palmer and Foden kept their reactions private, Maguire – whose England career may well now be over – reacted to his World Cup snub by releasing a statement on Thursday saying he was “shocked and gutted”. The defender’s mother Zoe described herself as being “absolutely disgusted”.

Maguire’s wife Fern joined the backlash on Friday by posting a message on Instagram that said: “Beyond devastated for you. There was nothing else you could have possibly done to prove your worth. I don’t need to tell you how admired you are, just a shame you were up against a single opinion. Forever behind you my love.”

Asked about Maguire’s response to the news, Tuchel said: “[I am] surprised and I think it was not necessary. I felt his disappointment. I felt that he was upset. He expressed it, which is fair enough.

“I can see all the arguments to have him in camp. I respect him a lot as a player. I respect him even more for his quality that he showed in March. As a football player, I can see all the arguments to have him in camp, but it’s just a decision, not a personal decision; just a decision for someone else. It was not necessary. Let’s put it like this.”

Palmer: ‘Not good enough’

Palmer has paid the price for a disappointing season at Chelsea in which he has struggled with injuries. Those fitness problems resulted in him withdrawing from several England squads, which Tuchel factored into his decision.

“I think he suffers from, first of all, a lack of individual form within the club,” said Tuchel. “He was not as decisive or as influential as he was in the last seasons, throughout the whole season. Second of all, he was not very influential with us. His record with us was just not outstanding, not good enough to make him ‘no matter what, he is coming’. That is just the reality of it.

“He pulled out several times, had to pull out several times injured. When he was in camp, he did not have the impact that we all wanted to push him in.

“I can find a lot of arguments to have him in the squad. I respect his quality and his very unique personality, he was never a problem in camp. I think his personality helps him, even in big moments, to not show nerves and to be decisive.

“But to have these moments you need also to be in shape, you need to be influential within this group and he has just failed to prove it on a consistent level.

“It was one of the most difficult phone calls, of course, and obviously one of the most prominent names that we leave out. But I refuse to bring players for the name and I refuse to then play them out of position just to give them something. I prefer to have the tough decision beforehand, digest it and then push everyone else.”

Foden: ‘I was not even sure what his position is’

Foden was a player Tuchel immediately challenged to return to his peak after taking charge of England, but the German has not seen enough from the Manchester City player to take him to the World Cup.

“With Phil, it’s a little bit different because Phil was excellent in camp for us,” said Tuchel. “He was not only excellent in training, but also off training. He was open, he was in good spirits.

“And it hurt me a lot, actually, to call him and to tell him this decision. I could see in his reaction how much it affects him, how much it would have meant for him to come.

“But I think, like with Cole and especially with Phil, he lost momentum in a crucial moment of the season and basically the last half of the season, we could see glimpses here and there but not a lot of evidence.

“I was not even sure in the end what his position is. Is it a 10? Is it a false nine? Is it maybe more a Bernardo Silva role in the future as a number eight? It is maybe not on the wing any more, so it does not also make sense for me to just bring players and then play them out of position to have them in camp.

“It will just also make them uncomfortable, make them unhappy. So the decisions have to be made before and the two names were very difficult ones.”

Tuchel also revealed that Liverpool and Fulham teenagers Rio Ngumoha and Josh King, along with Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri (on loan at Marseille), will travel to America for England’s pre-World Cup friendlies.

“For the two friendly matches, Alex Scott is confirmed,” said Tuchel. “Ngumoha is confirmed and Josh King. There will be one more player which we cannot name at the moment. I am happy that these guys are with us, especially Alex, who was even on the [provisional] list of 55.”

Our writers’ England XIs for the opening World Cup game against Croatia will be published tomorrow at 7am and you will also be able to pick your starting line-up too on telegraph.co.uk/sport

England aim to foil any spies in Kansas City camp

England will risk upsetting Kansas residents by attempting to stop Thomas Tuchel’s team being spied on during the World Cup.

Tuchel confirmed England will take measures to try to prevent opposition teams spying on his training sessions at the Swope Soccer Village in the aftermath of the Southampton “spygate” story.

That is expected to involve putting up large temporary screens around the training pitches, which locals fear may be unsightly. Swope Soccer Village sits in the middle of the historic Swope Park in the heart of Kansas City and the site will also be guarded by security staff.

Asked if England are making plans to stop the threat of opposing teams spying on his preparations, Tuchel mimed pulling back a bow and arrow, and said: “Yeah, we will take care of that, of course. As good as possible and not in a crazy way. It is what it is.

“As you all know, Argentina had the first option to choose a very secluded high-end facility in Kansas. So like always, you try to influence what you can influence. We are very happy with the training facility, especially what the FA and all the people in charge made now out of it. I think it suits all of our needs.

“But I agree it can be overlooked. I think we will have security there and we will build a bit of protection. Because, of course, it’s crucial if you train on a [match day] minus-one. You do your team build-ups, you do your set-pieces, you finalise with penalties. You don’t want the opponent to know. It just gives you a crucial advantage. So we’re trying to be as private as possible.”

Asked if he will attempt to spy on England’s opponents, Tuchel replied: “We will not send!”