Snubbed by Tuchel, Maguire to cover World Cup 2026 as Netflix pundit

Harry Maguire will attend the 2026 World Cup in the USA not as an England player but as a pundit on Gary Lineker’s Netflix show The Rest is Football, after Thomas Tuchel omitted the Manchester United defender from his squad for the tournament.

Maguire, 33, released a public statement on Instagram saying he was “shocked and gutted” by the decision, having backed himself for selection following a strong club season — particularly under Michael Carrick. Tuchel instead named Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Jarrel Quansah, Dan Burn and John Stones as his central defensive options.

The show confirmed Maguire will join hosts Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, alongside regular guest Joe Cole and a wider line-up that includes Frank Lampard, Millie Bright, Patrick Vieira, comedian Romesh Ranganathan and musician Niall Horan. The Rest is Football will run as a daily television programme throughout the tournament, starting 10 June.

Maguire’s World Cup studio will be Times Square in New York, where he will watch England’s campaign unfold from the outside. In his Instagram statement, the defender wrote: “I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players all the best this summer.”

It is not the first major tournament Maguire has missed through circumstances beyond his control. He was absent from Gareth Southgate’s final squad for Euro 2024 after failing to recover from a calf injury in time. Before that, he featured at the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

England open their 2026 World Cup group stage against Croatia on 17 June, before facing Ghana on 23 June and Panama on 27 June.