Pundit Tim Sherwood has overlooked four Newcastle United players when naming his dream England XI.
Under Thomas Tuchel, Newcastle United have been well-represented among the England squad.
Dan Burn made his Three Lions debut under Tuchel, while Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon have continued their international careers during his tenure.
Burn has been something of a mainstay since making his debut in March, although he dropped to the bench for their 5-0 win over Serbia earlier this week.
Gordon and Livramento, however, started in what was Tuchel’s best win in charge thus far. All three look in the running to earn a place in the England squad for next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Still, Sherwood couldn’t find a place for any of them when naming the XI he’d ideally like to see.
Photo by Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty ImagesTim Sherwood snubs Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon
Asked by Sky Sports to select the best England team in his view if everyone was fit, Sherwood didn’t include a single member of the Newcastle contingent.
There are, of course, a lot of good players in the England squad, so that in itself is perhaps not all that surprising.
However, the players Sherwood picked over the Newcastle stars feel somewhat strange. He selected Reece James over Livramento at left-back, despite the fact the Chelsea star has played there much less than his Newcastle counterpart.
That’s without mentioning a natural left-back in Lewis Hall, who surely could have played under Tuchel for England if he didn’t suffer an injury towards the end of last season.
Selecting Jack Grealish over Gordon as a left-winger also seems strange. Grealish is looking good at Everton but cannot compare with Gordon’s output over the last two seasons.
Thomas Tuchel thinks Newcastle United can help England win the World Cup
The 2024/25 season in English football was defined by unlikely cup wins. Indeed, Newcastle ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by lifting the Carabao Cup.
Crystal Palace and Tottenham, meanwhile, won the FA Cup and the Europa League respectively.
It proved that trophy droughts, no matter how long they may be, can come to an end. That could be significant for England, who haven’t won a major international trophy since 1966.
For that reason, Tuchel thinks teams like Newcastle can help England win the 2026 World Cup.
In March, he told ITV: “It was 70 years for Newcastle and it was different. And it was also different because they were in the second final [having lost the 2023 Carabao Cup final].
“I strongly believe in this. It felt very different how they approached the second final in a short period of time and it will help us.”
With that in mind, it makes sense as to why Tuchel has been leaning on a few Newcastle players thus far.