Chelsea forward Joao Pedro has described Cole Palmer as an intelligent player.
Recall that Palmer was omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man England squad for the 2026 World Cup due to a disappointing, injury-hit season with Chelsea and a lack of form compared to rivals for his position.
Omission From England Squad And Injury Crisis
A groin injury saw him miss 15 matches between August and November 2025, followed by further issues with his toe, thigh, and hamstring.
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Speaking on his omission, the Brazilian star, in a chat with the club’s website, stated that Palmer would have walked straight into the Brazil squad.
“He’s very intelligent. He’s magic,” said the Chelsea striker.
“I said to him before, ‘I didn’t think you were that good.’ And he looked at me. I said, ‘Yeah, but now because I play with him, yeah, he’s different.
“I said to him, ‘Why don’t you come to Brazil? The number 10 there, mate. No problem.’ Because in Brazil, we don’t have this guy.
“If you watch us, we play 4-2-4. We don’t have a number 10.”
The No 10 slots will be filled by Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers who have been in much better form than Palmer who has failed to impress this season thanks to numerous injuries.
Despite scoring in the [EURO 2024 final], the 24-year-old’s exclusion is considered one of the biggest talking points of the squad announcement.
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Team Of Specialists And Set-Piece Experts
Tuchel, who is known to select big characters when picking a squad, has placed ‘particular emphasis’ on selecting certain personalities for tournament football.
Speaking in his press conference, Tuchel described his squad as a team of specialists and set-piece experts.
“We have a huge chunk of youthfulness, six who have won with the U21s, Kobbie and Nico O’Reilly,” said Tuchel. “We have specialists for all types of scenarios – leading, chasing, we always want to be a strong set-piece team and penalties team and we have specialists for that.”
