Palmer 'misses too many chances to impress', says England boss Tuchel

Cole Palmer "misses too many chances" to impress and lock down a regular place in the England squad, according to Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel named his latest Three Lions squad on Friday, ahead of Nations League fixtures versus Croatia and Spain.

And once again, there was no place for Palmer, after the Chelsea forward was also left out of Tuchel's World Cup group and for the first four games of the 2026-27 Nations League campaign. 

Palmer has not appeared for his country since a 1-0 friendly defeat to Japan in March, while eight of his 14 senior caps have now come from the bench.

Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham and Fulham's Josh King have both been handed their maiden call-ups by Tuchel, with Jude Bellingham, Rio Ngumoha, Morgan Gibbs-White, Eberechi Eze and Palmer's Chelsea team-mate Morgan Rogers rounding out Tuchel's number 10 options.

Phil Foden was also omitted from the group once again, but when it comes to Palmer in particular, Tuchel feels the 24-year-old has not seized his chance.

"We have enough number 10s, and we stick to the guys who were in the previous camp because we were happy with the two and a half weeks we had together," said Tuchel.

"We have Josh King as a new player in there, but I want to see him on both wings. He is kind of an extra player, and he can play all four positions.

"I guess everyone is desperate to play for England and Cole is no exception.

"We are speaking now about a player that is not in the camp. It counts when you are in camp and I just said last time that he misses too many opportunities to impress.

"So, it's not personal and, of course, we will never assume that Cole is not in the mindset to come and desperate to play for his country, but the competition is on and the players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place."

England are at home to Croatia on November 12 before visiting Spain three days later, and they only need a point in their first match to make certain of their quarter-final place.

Harry Kane's next appearance for the Three Lions will see him become his nation's all-time leading appearance-maker outright, surpassing Peter Shilton with his 126th cap.

And Tuchel is excited to see the striker reach another milestone, after he recently became England's first Ballon d'Or winner since Michael Owen in 2001.

"It's just an incredible achievement that these two occasions come together one after the other, and we are able to witness this," Tuchel said.

"He wins the Ballon d'Or, deservedly so, and then gets the all-time record for England with 126 appearances in his next game.

"It's an important match for us. It is a crucial match for us, to set up a final in Spain afterwards. So, it will be a deserved occasion to celebrate an extraordinary player."