- Jarrod Bowen was officially ruled out of England’s 2026 World Cup
- Thomas Tuchel praises Bowen despite West Ham’s situation’
- The Hammers are in the Premier League relegation zone
Jarrod Bowen was officially ruled out of England’s 2026 World Cup squad on Friday morning. The West Ham captain faced a tough battle in making Thomas Tuchel’s star-studded 26-man squad, with Arsenal duo Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka pipping Bowen to the wide-right selections.
Although Bowen remains one of the most productive Englishmen in the Premier League, with 8 goals and 10 assists this season – only Morgan Gibbs-White shares the leading tally amongst peers, the 29-year-old’s presence in a dismal Hammers’ season has evidently played a factor in his international omission.
Bowen was not included in the England squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Tuchel’s predecessor, Sir Gareth Southgate, included Bowen in his Euro 2024 squad and played the forward in group games against Serbia and Denmark.
Thomas Tuchel praises West Ham captain despite ‘situation’
Bowen, who has 22 appearances and one goal for his country, came off the bench in friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March, but is not among the seven attackers nominated to the 26-man team.
Three Lions manager Tuchel questioned whether West Ham’s lacklustre performance hampered the forward’s international prospects.
Tuchel said: “You mention Jarrod. Jarrod was the one of the players under the radar maybe, but he was just excellent in every camp for us and then gets the phone call that he’s not on the plane.
“Does Jarrod suffer a bit from the situation at his club? It is difficult for him. Does Noni [Madueke] and Bukayo [Saka] profit from the situation of their club?”
Madueke and Saka are contributing parts of Arsenal, who were recently crowned Premier League champions and contest the Champions League final against holders Paris Saint-Germain on May 30. Bowen’s West Ham are in the Premier League relegation zone ahead of the season finale on Sunday.
“The reaction of Jarrod was just outstanding. It proved again what kind of character and how much he buys in the team spirit,” added Tuchel.
“It was a very difficult choice to make. Noni was excellent for us in the matches that he played. I believe he can be a difference-maker. He is used to coming on and coming off – it can be a big advantage.”
What does Tuchel’s England squad say about ‘big club’ bias?
The consensus from Tuchel’s squad announcement is that the former Chelsea coach has a bias toward players from the ‘big clubs’. The 52-year-old German has selected 12 players from the Premier League’s traditional Big Six, including Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who play for continental giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, are also included in the squad. Whilst Bowen joins Gibbs-White, Lewis Hall and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck as unlikely exclusions who play their football outside the major club gaze.
Of course, Bowen, Gibbs-White, Hall and Welbeck’s selected competitors all have credible arguments for selection. Bowen, in particular, has shown in the Hammers’ relegation run-in, with the club on the verge of the drop, that he has struggled to produce when the opposition has honed more attention on him.
Tuchel’s selection and press conference defence shows an evident preference for players who operate at the highest levels of club football, with all three English European finalists (Arsenal, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace) each having at least one representative in the squad. However, as evidenced by the inclusion of Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence and Ivan Toney, who plays for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, the contradiction is hard to miss.
