Thomas Tuchel warns Cole Palmer after England withdrawal: ‘Another missed opportunity’

Thomas Tuchel has criticised Cole Palmer after the Chelsea forward withdrew from England’s squad again, saying the 24-year-old is missing too many chances to establish himself internationally.

Palmer was recalled by Tuchel after an impressive start to the season with Chelsea, scoring four goals and providing two assists in seven matches. He had been selected for England’s fixtures against Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia after previously being left out of the World Cup squad earlier this year because injuries had contributed to a decline in his form.

However, Palmer pulled out of the current camp because of a muscle injury, prompting a strong response from England manager Tuchel before Saturday’s Nations League opener against Spain at Wembley.

“It is another missed opportunity,” Tuchel told reporters. “He misses a lot of opportunities, and I do not blame him for that. It is simply a fact that he misses a lot of camps because of injuries.”

Tuchel said Palmer could only be properly assessed by being present with the national team, adding that the player had another level to reach before he could prove himself to the manager and his coaching staff.

“I only want to rely on what I see and what I experience myself within my team,” he said. “To do that, the player has to be in camp. If he is not in camp, there is a higher level at which he has to prove himself, and that level can only be reached with me and my team on the pitch.

“It is another missed opportunity.”

Tuchel rejects suggestion of special treatment

Tuchel also firmly rejected suggestions that England’s staff had reduced Palmer’s workload by allowing him to leave the camp, particularly after he had played the full 90 minutes for Chelsea against Brentford before joining up with England.

“He plays while suffering from discomfort and pain, and he cannot play at the highest level while experiencing that,” Tuchel said. “We informed Chelsea about that, and that is what I understood. We do not reduce the players’ workloads.”

The German added that England’s camp was not simply a routine international break but a competitive environment built around players training and spending time together.

“This is not an international break; it is a competitive environment where players love to train and be together,” he said. “That is what we have created, and we will never compromise on it.

“We will never allow the feeling to creep in that players do not want to be here. We are focused on the players who desperately want to play for England.”

England’s opening Group A3 fixture against Spain, the world champions, begins a three-week international period under the revised FIFA schedule, which has combined the September and October international windows.

After Saturday’s match at Wembley, England travel to Prague to face the Czech Republic on 29 September. They then meet Croatia in Rijeka on 3 October before hosting the Czech Republic at Wembley again three nights later.