'I'm not crying' - Cole Palmer finally responds to being left out of England's World Cup squad

Cole Palmer has finally responded to being left out of England's World Cup squad in one of Thomas Tuchel's most controversial calls.

The Chelsea star scored in the Euro 2024 final against Spain two years ago but faces a longer wait to make his first World Cup appearance after Tuchel overlooked him for the tournament in North America.

Palmer, who fired Chelsea to glory in the revamped Club World Cup in the United States last summer, was left out alongside Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, Harry Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lewis Hall.

The move came as a huge surprise to many, including England kit manufacturer Nike. Set for a prominent role, Palmer was one of the faces of the swoosh brand's 'Rip the Script' advert.

In defending his squad selection and the fact that two of England's top talents were not included, Tuchel said: "We are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team."

Fitness issues meant Palmer missed a number of camps and only made three appearances under Tuchel.

In the short time with the group, Tuchel said Palmer's "record with us was just not outstanding, not good enough to make him 'no matter what, he is coming".

He also pointed to his difficult season, where his creative output dropped off and he struggled with a chronic groin problem as the Blues finished 10th.

While others like Harry Maguire were immediately vocal about missing out, Palmer remained silent until now - addressing his snub in an interview with I-D.

Asked about his exclusion, Palmer said: "I’m not crying over a decision you can’t change, and I hope the lads make it all the way."

Palmer also said that the 2025/26 campaign "hasn’t been the best, but it is what it is".

On how he would be spending the time, Palmer explained: “I’m going to relax this summer, rest for the first time in 3 or 4 years, before getting back to what I love,”

He posted a series of holiday snaps on his Instagram, with the caption, "Could be worse".

The interview appeared to be conducted prior to the tournament kicking off but Palmer confirmed he had no objections to tuning in for England games, adding: "If I’m not doing anything, then I’ll watch the matches, yeah,”

England legends bemoan Cole Palmer's absence from World Cup squad

After the 0-0 draw with Ghana where England were devoid of any invention in attack, there was a focus on Palmer's omission.

Jamie Carragher wrote a column where he said that he believed leaving Palmer at home would be Tuchel's biggest regret.

Meanwhile, England legend Wayne Rooney expressed a similar view during punditry for the BBC when he said, "these games are when you need a Phil Foden or a Cole Palmer. Clever players in tight areas".

Completing the trio, former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew stressed that Palmer could have been the one to provide the answer to the equation that England had such difficulty solving.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Pardew said: "There was a couple of times when I thought [Jude] Bellingham was the only one who was looking for one-twos, trying to run beyond, which is a feature of his play.

"But we didn't have enough of that, and that sharpness and little cleverness and thinking around the box was very much lacking.

"And there's a lot of people talking about Palmer missing the group.

"And he would have been the type of player that I personally would have had in the group for that equation that you had yesterday.

"When you are going into a World Cup tournament, you haven't just got one equation, you've got lots of equations to come."

England are still set to qualify for the knockout stages and lock horns with Panama in their final group game in New Jersey on Saturday.