Cole Palmer has said he did watch England at the World Cup after his 26-man squad snub — but fell asleep at halftime of the game against Mexico.
Palmer, 24, was one of the biggest surprise omissions from Thomas Tuchel for the tournament in North America.
It gave the Chelsea playmaker some much-needed time off after a long but injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign, and he used that to cheer on his nation while on holiday.
“Obviously I was away, and the times were a bit mad in America,” Palmer said on Chelsea’s preseason tour in Australia. “So it was a bit difficult, but I did watch.”
Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite stay up for arguably England’s greatest win of the tournament, a gutsy 3-2 round-of-16 victory with 10 men over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. The game kicked off at 2 a.m. GMT after storms pushed the game back an hour.
Asked if he watched that game, Palmer — prompting laughter at the news conference — said: “I did, but I fell asleep at halftime.”
After missing out on playing in his first World Cup, Palmer said he will use it as extra motivation for the season ahead.
“Naturally, if someone tells you that you’re essentially not good enough to get in the squad, then you’re going to try extra hard,” he added.
England were eventually knocked out in the semifinals by Argentina.
Palmer is preparing for the new season under Xabi Alonso at Chelsea, who play Tottenham in their next friendly on Saturday.
