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Thomas Tuchel Delivers Bitter Blow To West Ham Captain

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Well, it’s now official.

Thomas Tuchel has named his England national football team World Cup squad and Jarrod Bowen will not be on the plane.

Rumours began circulating late last night suggesting the West Ham captain had missed out on the final 26-man squad and unfortunately those reports have now proven accurate.

It will no doubt come as a bitter disappointment to Bowen considering he has featured in almost every England squad since Tuchel took charge of the national side.

The manner in which the squad leaked over the last few hours also made something of a mockery of the official announcement itself, given how many people already seemed aware of the final selection.

Bowen’s Numbers Deserved Better

As for Bowen himself, he will understandably feel disappointed after recording 18 goal involvements whilst playing in a very poor West Ham side.

There are certainly players ahead of him in the squad who have not come remotely close to matching those numbers this season.

That said, Bowen also looks absolutely exhausted.

At best he appears completely knackered and at worst possibly carrying an injury, which would perhaps explain why he seems to have lost half a yard of pace over recent months.

Position Players
Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford
Dean Henderson
James Trafford
Defenders Reece James
Tino Livramento
Marc Guehi
Ezri Konsa
John Stones
Jarell Quansah
Nico O’Reilly
Dan Burn
Djed Spence
Midfielders Declan Rice
Elliot Anderson
Jude Bellingham
Jordan Henderson
Morgan Rogers
Kobbie Mainoo
Forwards Harry Kane
Ivan Toney
Ollie Watkins
Bukayo Saka
Noni Madueke
Marcus Rashford
Anthony Gordon
Eberechi Eze

Summer Rest May Benefit Bowen

He probably won’t want to hear this right now, but I do actually think Bowen himself may benefit from finally getting a proper summer break.

The reality is he has barely stopped playing football over the last four years.

Other notable omissions from Tuchel’s squad include Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Harry Maguire, whose apparent temper tantrum reportedly played a major role in many of yesterday’s leaks.

There has already been plenty of debate about whether Tuchel has selected the right squad to take across the Atlantic this summer.

But realistically, nobody can properly judge that until the tournament itself begins to unfold.

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Kris Gonzo (commonly known to the West Ham community as Gonzo) is the co-founder of Hammers Chat (established 2014) and the lead video content creator and columnist for Claret and Hugh.

With over a decade of professional sports media experience, he is a frequent West Ham United analyst and contributor for Sky Sports News, BBC Football Focus, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He previously served as an official video and content creator for West Ham United FC during the club's tenure at Upton Park and featured in the official documentary commemorating the historic final game at the Boleyn Ground.

A lifelong Hammer since the legendary 10-0 victory over Bury, when he isn't providing daily match analysis on the Hammers Chat YouTube Channel or broadcasting on X (@GONZObignose), he can be found walking his dog and restoring classic pinball machines.

17 comments

  • Rob says:

    Gonzo I have a message for Jarrod. Go out Sunday and show them what they will be missing!

  • D says:

    Let’s be honest, he’s been pretty poor of late. I think he may be playing with an injury. It’s a shame but not unexpected

  • KJ says:

    Couldn’t care less about England national team but he’s never really done much when playing for England and, if we’re honest, we all love him for us but he’s a fairly one dimensional player – get ball wide, take on player, cut in and shoot. Hasn’t been doing that one thing well enough for us lately either though, sadly.

    If he stays with us he’ll tear up the Championship next year, otherwise he’s not really going to improve any Champions League placed teams so it’s probably just the start of his slow decline somewhere like Everton or Newcastle.

    Seems a lovely fella though, wish him all the best.

  • Jb says:

    I think that’s Bowen gone now..
    He has to follow the money..He is nearly thirty..
    I really think if he went and had a good world cup he would have finished his career with us.
    Now I would not blame him for going elsewhere…
    He has given us some great goals..It also makes sense to cash in on him ..£40/50 M would take a chunk out of the unserviceable debt… Obviously the best scenario is Sullivan leaving and West Ham staying up and a new owner with billions building a team fit for Europe..But that’s in some weird parallel universe… Good luck Jarrod… Thank you!

  • M B says:

    The fact no one apart from West Ham sites/fans is mentioning Bowen’s exclusion is very telling. It doesn’t bode well for Sunday and he will likely be more MIA than in recent games. How Maduake gets in the squad is beyond me though. A very average player – 25 apps, 2 goals and 1assist for the Champions says it all.

  • Taffyhammer says:

    John Stones? Jordan Henderson?

    What is going on here?

    Surely Declan Rice will be the captain. No need to wait until Harry Kane finally announces his retirement aged 42.

  • Phillip says:

    I know we all would have wanted to see him go to the World Cup but, in the event that he is with us next season (a long shot even if we were to stay up I think), we need the best Jarrod Bowen possible, and if a summer spent recuperating rather than dragging himself here, there and everywhere (it seems) in this World Cup tournament is the way to do that, then it’s good for him, it’s good for us, it’s good for everyone.

  • Scotty G says:

    It depends whether you are English or not K. It is not Tuchel’s fault that the West Ham team are mainly foreigners. It was very different in ’66.

  • Darren says:

    Personally I am split. Sorry for Jarrod and his family that he has missed out, but glad he will get a full summer off to be firing come August

  • tom says:

    Not going to be the same watching it any way, England playing in the wrld cup with a German manager, dont seem right to me.

  • Mick taxi says:

    Let’s be fair his form in last dozen games has been poor thats what’s cost Bowen

  • Jeeps says:

    Kane 36_Bundesliga/Champions league_14 (50 goals) and Toney 32 goals in 32 games.
    Bowen needs to up his output starting this week to give fans hope.

  • Chris says:

    Very uninspiring England team. Not a lot of creativity or spark that I can see or ability to change things from the bench. Some real shockers- Dan burn, madueke, Gordon, Henderson. Poor call re maguire and either foden or palmer (the later haven’t played much but are fresh and have looked good lately). Feel sorry for Bowen but his form has dipped probably because of the weight of carrying the others

  • K says:

    Is it wrong of me to want an England team with no West Ham players in it to fail miserably?

  • Paul Basnett says:

    Big disappointment missing out on the experience of a lifetime. Probably his last chance and and he deserved the chance I think because of his adaptability.
    He’s a proper professional and will deal with it but it’s a big disappointment.

  • Hmm says:

    Hmm. No Bowen? Travesty.

Comments are closed.