Gary Lineker makes strong case for Lewis Hall after England World Cup snub

Thomas Tuchel opted to leave Lewis Hall behind when he announced his final England World Cup squad, instead opting to take Djed Spence.

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence spent all season battling relegation and is primarily a right-back, so the decision for Tuchel to opt for Spence over Hall or even Luke Shaw left a lot of people truly baffled.

Lewis Hall had a phenomenal season for Newcastle, with only one or two games where he was slightly off the pace in what was a difficult campaign for the team overall. Clearly, the rest of the team's inability to perform isn't an issue for Tuchel, though, as Spurs were hot garbage all season and Spence still got the nod.

It felt like Lewis Hall would be a certainty to go to North America given that it was Thomas Tuchel who gave Hall his break at Chelsea, but it wasn't meant to be for whatever reason.

Gary Lineker thinks Thomas Tuchel made a mistake

Former England captain Gary Lineker believes that it was a huge mistake not to take Hall to the World Cup, as he said on The Rest Is Football's Netflix show. Lineker hails Hall as the 'best left-back' and harked back to how he kept Lamine Yamal at bay at St James' Park.

"I think the best left-back has not been picked: Lewis Hall. It's fair to say at this point we would all pick different squads, it's one person's opinion and that's what counts. But there are certain players in there that I think have been hard done by, Lewis Hall for me.

"He talks about Djed Spence because he is the quickest and he can play on that side as well and chase back. Did he see Lewis Hall against Yamal? He didn't give him a kick. He's been really unlucky. Elsewhere I think Harry Maguire would have been another one possibly."

It still doesn't make sense to us

Obviously, we are biased when it comes to Lewis Hall, but even now that the dust has settled, we can't believe that he's been left out of that squad.

Nico O'Reilly is a good option to have at left-back, and it's a toss-up between who is better, O'Reilly and Hall, but the former has the edge because he plays for Manchester City, so the media will naturally flock to him. But going without a recognised back-up and hoping to rely on two right-backs to cover when you have two excellent left-backs at home is absolutely crazy.

With all due respect to Tino Livramento, who we also love and are chuffed he has gone to the World Cup, Lewis Hall is far more likely to stay fit through the whole tournament. Tino went there with an injury already.

Make it make sense, Thomas.