Two years ago, the notion of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden being excluded from an England squad would have seemed absurd. Today, it is reality — and a striking illustration of how quickly fortunes can shift in international football.

Both players featured in England's Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain. Foden started that night at Berlin's Olympiastadion, while Palmer came off the bench to equalise. They were the symbols of a generation, two academy products from Manchester City who appeared destined to anchor England's midfield at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States.

Instead, manager Thomas Tuchel has left them out of the World Cup squad entirely, favouring players who have demonstrated better form during his tenure.

From award winners to omission

Palmer's rise was meteoric. After earning his first start in a pre-tournament friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2024, he forced his way into the public consciousness at the Euros and was subsequently named England's men's player of the year and PFA young player of the year. He also racked up 37 Premier League goals across his first two seasons at Chelsea.

This season, however, the cutting edge deserted him. Palmer still contributed nine goals in 25 Premier League appearances, but the electric moments that had defined him were conspicuously absent.

Foden's decline has been equally stark, though it has stretched over a longer period. The Manchester City midfielder scored six goals in five matches during a run of form just before Christmas, hinting at a revival, but he has not found the net since. The contrast with the 2023-24 campaign — when he plundered 19 Premier League goals and 27 in all competitions — could hardly be more pronounced.

Foden's defining moment against Uruguay

The pivotal point in Foden's World Cup prospects may have arrived in March, when Tuchel handed him a chance to nail down the number 10 role in a friendly against Uruguay. With Harry Kane absent, Foden operated as the focal creative force — and struggled. He drifted as a peripheral figure, dropped deep searching for the ball, and was substituted 11 minutes into the second half. His replacement was Palmer, though that cameo proved insufficient to change Tuchel's thinking about either man.

England drew 1-1 with Uruguay and lost 1-0 to Japan in that international window. Neither performance impressed the coaching staff.

Rogers and Eze earn their places

The players who have benefited from Palmer and Foden's loss of form tell their own story. Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, who scored in Villa's 3-0 UEFA Europa League win over Freiburg, has retained Tuchel's trust throughout his tenure. Arsenal's Eberechi Eze, despite recording only seven goals and two assists in the Gunners' Premier League title-winning campaign, contributed three goals in six World Cup qualifiers and offered the unpredictability and pace that Tuchel values. Eze missed the March friendlies through injury; those games only confirmed to Tuchel how much he had been missed.

Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder, keeps his place despite Tuchel having aired occasional doubts about him publicly in the past.

Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White, joint top English scorer in the Premier League this season with 14 goals, has not done enough to secure selection either. His only competitive appearances under Tuchel came in qualifiers against Andorra, and six goals in his past six club matches have not shifted the manager's assessment.

Tuchel's ruthless yardstick

The overarching message from Tuchel is clear: reputation earns nothing in his squad. John Stones is among the few veterans retained on the strength of his standing rather than recent output. For everyone else, form is the currency — and Palmer and Foden currently have very little of it to spend.