AS ADAM WHARTON patrolled the field in Leipzig, east Germany, putting in a Man of the Match performance as Crystal Palace won a European cup, it was difficult not to think about Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

It was another triumph in this glorious chapter of Crystal Palace’s history, and as one of England’s fanbase’s most influenced by continental Europe, they have looked at home on the welcome new stage that is the Europa Conference League. And so did Wharton.

The 22-year-old Blackburn-born midfielder was comfortable in this big final, which can’t always be said about English players, and played a key part in the winning goal as his shot was spilled by Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Augusto Batalla, giving Jean-Philippe Mateta the opportunity to knock in the rebound.

He also put another chance on a plate for Tyrick Mitchell, whose header went just wide, and demonstrated his range of passing through traffic from his central midfield position.

A few days before this final, Tuchel named his England squad for the 2026 World Cup in typical fashion, caring little about the consensus of who he should pick, and going with the players he thinks he needed to pick to win the tournament.

Tuchel’s selection was in some ways a breath of fresh air. A reminder that international tournaments are not won by collecting the best players and then trying to work out what to do with them, but by first working out what to do, and then assembling the best players to carry it out.

Wharton is not part of Tuchel’s plans this summer and wasn’t the only surprise omission. Players considered among the biggest talents England have produced in recent years, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, were also left out, showing Tuchel’s belief in his own plan and his willingness to take responsibility for it.

This is still a very good England squad on paper and one capable of going far in the World Cup. There are no guarantees in knockout tournaments, even for the most well-organised and talented teams. Unlike a league table, where the best team can afford the odd unfortunate slip-up here and there, in a cup competition, those slip-ups generally, and invariably in England’s case, lead to being knocked out, but this group has the potential to reach the latter stages, and enough quality to win.

Tuchel has stuck to his guns and made difficult, or at least unpopular, calls. Compared to previous England managers, he might be less inclined to feel pressured into picking players others think he should pick over those he wants to select. The German has a reputation throughout his managerial career for not caring too much what the media, or even sometimes his employers, think, and just doing what he thinks is best. He is the manager after all.

But as you watched Wharton’s performance back in Tuchel’s native Germany, it felt like this might be the one decision he’s got wrong.

As talented as the likes of Palmer and Foden are, they have not been at their best this season, so Tuchel was under less pressure to pick them than he might have been.

Tuchel also seems to prefer the threat of speed on the flanks and more physicality in the central attacking positions, resulting in the selection of players like Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers, and, perhaps most surprisingly, Ivan Toney.

There is also the fact that star striker Harry Kane himself does plenty of the work of a No 10. Kane’s performances for Bayern have been reminiscent of Alfredo di Stefano’s at Real Madrid — a centre forward who covers the entire depth of the pitch from box to box to get involved, before being there at the end of moves to score goals.

At Bayern, Kane has worked well with the direct, speedy wing play of Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, while also scoring numerous goals via assists from midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Tuchel’s choice of wingers matches Vincent Kompany’s Bayern set-up, but while there is no-one else quite on Kimmich’s level, similar midfield creativity could have come from Wharton and his line-breaking passes and set-piece delivery, and who better to spray passes out to those wingers for the pass before the assist?

“That’s just part of football,” Wharton said of missing out on the England squad after Palace’s triumph in the Conference League.

“It was never a guarantee I was going to go. I knew that.

“When he [Tuchel] called me, he just told me I wasn’t there. He said it was close. But yeah, like I said, that’s football. I’m not going to sit here and cry about it.

“I still had two games for Palace to go, obviously, tonight being a massive one, so I don’t really dwell on those things too much.

“It’s not the end of the world. I’m still young. Hopefully, there are other tournaments and World Cups I can go to in the future, but I was just focused on Palace and coming here and getting the win, which we have done.”

Plenty might not agree with Tuchel’s England squad, but the selection makes sense. There might be one nagging omission, though. If England struggle to break teams down or fail to find the right passes on the break, or if they can’t bring the element of control that will be needed in the North American heat, they might wish they could call on Wharton.