Credit: Imago/John Terry on TikTok

James Barker

Thu 2 April 2026 15:40, UK

John Terry thinks Arsenal’s Max Dowman should make England’s World Cup squad, but doesn’t believe West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen should.

England fans saw their last glimpse of the Three Lions before they head off for this summer’s World Cup on Tuesday night, as Thomas Tuchel’s side were beaten by Japan.

In the wake of that defeat, and as it will continue to do so until the final squad is named, debates are raging over which players should be on the plane, and which should be left on the tarmac.

One of those who doesn’t appear to have cemented his place in the team is Bowen, with the 29-year-old West Ham winger playing 52 minutes against Uruguay and 31 against Japan respectively.

Therefore, he’s going to need a big final seven games of the Hammers’ Premier League season in order to punch his ticket to the World Cup.

John Terry picks Max Dowman over Jarrod Bowen for England

Tuchel has faced criticism over his treatment of Bowen, in particular for his decision to deploy Phil Foden as a false nine against Japan, instead of playing the West Ham man as the striker in Harry Kane’s absence.

So, whilst the England boss may not be assured of his talent and the impact he could have, everyone connected with the Hammers most certainly is.

Without his eight goals and four assists, as well as all the other attributes he brings to the team aside from his goal contributions, West Ham may already be preparing for a return to the Championship.

It’s certainly up for debate as to whether Bowen should make England’s World Cup squad, and as shown in a video posted to his official TikTok account, Terry shouldn’t be getting pelters for leaving him out.

However, the Chelsea and England legend’s decision to say no to Bowen but yes to Arsenal’s Dowman? Now that’s one that doesn’t appear to make an awful lot of sense.

In a simple yes/no challenge, Terry took a pause of deliberation before saying no to Bowen, but didn’t hesitate to give Dowman the seal of approval.

Interestingly, however, when presented with Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, Terry said: “Not yet. For the future.”

Ngumoha has played 13 times in the Premier League this season culminating in 219 minutes, whereas Dowman has just three appearances with 43 minutes of top flight action under his belt, and both have scored one goal.

So, if you aren’t taking Ngumoha because you don’t feel he’s ready yet and one “for the future”, then how can you take Dowman?

The Bowen disrespect has to stop

For whatever reason, some players go through their careers and do nothing but produce fantastic season after fantastic season, but never get the credit nor recognition they deserve.

Bowen is one of those players. With 2025-26 being his sixth full season as a Hammer, the forward has only ever posted one season where he’s failed to hit double-digit goals in all competitions, and that was 2020-21.

Since then, he’s scored 18, 13, 20, 14 and 10 so far this term in all competitions, and that’s not including his vast quantities of assists either.

He’s one of West Ham’s all-time great players, and has been putting up the numbers he has in largely mediocre Irons teams too.

It’s very simple, if Bowen was playing for a Liverpool or a Chelsea etc etc, then not only would there be every chance his production would be even better, but he certainly wouldn’t face the level of disrespect he gets as a Hammer.