Tuchel criticises England star: 'A missed chance for him, yet another missed chance...' | Goal.com
Thomas Tuchel has criticised Cole Palmer's latest absence from the England squad. The head coach has seen the Chelsea midfielder pull out again with physical complaints and called it a missed opportunity.
Palmer was initially called up for England's next four matches in the Nations League, but withdrew. Chelsea's 24-year-old star was not the only one, with Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento also pulling out.
"It is certainly a missed opportunity for Palmer. Another missed opportunity," says Tuchel. "He is missing far too many moments. I do not hold that against him. It is simply a fact that he is missing far too many training camps because of injuries."
Since Tuchel took charge of England at the start of 2025, Palmer has made only three appearances for the national team. The Chelsea player also missed last summer's World Cup squad and has been dealing with physical problems for quite some time.
Tuchel says he mainly wants to judge players on what he sees for himself during international periods. "If you are not at the training camp, you simply cannot reach the next level of making an impression. That is only possible when you are actually on the pitch with me and with us."
For the German, Palmer's withdrawal has nothing to do with deliberately managing his workload. "My understanding is that he is playing with discomfort and pain and that he cannot perform at the highest level with discomfort and pain. That is why he withdrew and we were informed about that by him and Chelsea."
Still, Tuchel made it clear he does not want players to see international periods as a chance to rest. "We do not manage the workload. This is not an 'international break'. It is a competitive environment, but also an environment where players want to be as soon as they come in."
He remains firm on his principles around the England squad. "We will never make concessions to that feeling and we do not want the idea to arise that players do not want to come. We are focusing on the boys who absolutely want to play for England."
England begin the new Nations League campaign on Saturday with a home match against reigning European and world champions Spain.
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