There was certainly some surprise when England boss Tuchel opted to leave Wharton out of his 26-man squad heading to the World Cup.
Palace may have not had a great domestic season given they finished 15th in the Premier League and were beaten in the FA Cup by non-League Macclesfield – but they have now won a European trophy and Wharton was hugely influential in that.
This Conference League final performance was another reason to be wondering why Wharton is not on the plane.
“That’s part of football. It was never a guarantee I was going to go, I knew that,” Wharton said on his England omission.
“I’m not going to sit here and cry about it. I had two games for Palace to go.
“I don’t dwell on those things too much, its 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. I was just focused on Palace, coming here and getting the win.”
The decision to pick Brentford midfielder Henderson at the age of 35 over the 22-year-old Wharton may be the most eye-catching and surprising selection.
Henderson has obviously been picked for his experience but Wharton would probably have more to give on the pitch if you compare not only their performances this season but also last term.
“I understand why the manager has taken Henderson but for me if he is going to do that kind of job, take him as a coach,” said Hoddle. “Take him as a player-coach if you like but I think there was a spot there for Wharton.”
The re-emergence of Mainoo at Manchester United has also not helped Wharton given the Palace midfielder was in Tuchel’s squads for the past two international breaks and featured in qualifiers against Serbia and Albania before a friendly appearance against Uruguay in March.
Mainoo, given he was being frozen out at Old Trafford by then Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim for the first half of the season, was not involved under Tuchel until the March friendlies and now has won his way into favour.
Both were at Euro 2024 but Wharton never got on the pitch while Mainoo started all four knockout games, including the final.
Arsenal‘s Declan Rice is surely one of the first names on the teamsheet and Elliot Anderson is expected to partner him while Tuchel also has Bellingham, Eze and Rogers as midfield options.
It certainly feels a harsh decision to leave someone like Wharton at home, even if Tuchel has many choices in the position.
