2026-06-08 11:31:41

Thomas Tuchel has insisted Jude Bellingham has a fight on his hands to make England’s First XI at the World Cup.

The Three Lions boss has addressed the tough choices he has to make when it comes to putting together a starting lineup from his overall squad, and Bellingham, 22, is among “14 or 15 potential starters” competing for the coveted spots.

Asked if the Real Madrid midfielder has a fight to make the starting XI, Tuchel said: “Yes, he has.

“He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters.

“These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”

Since Tuchel took from Gareth Southgate as England head coach in January 2025, Bellingham has only started four times, with a further three appearances from the bench.

Instead, the German has favoured Aston Villa ace Morgan Rogers, and he has picked up in 12 of his 13 matches in the dugout.

Rogers, who recently won the Europa League with the Premier League side, was the only player to be selected in each of England’s eight qualifying matches for the World Cup.

During England’s Euro 2024 campaign, the final tournament Southgate oversaw, he missed just 29 minutes of football.

Last September, he was ruled out of two qualifying matches due to injury, but the following month he was overlooked.

In March, he was ruled out again with a hamstring injury.

In June, Tuchel was forced to apologise for describing Bellingham’s on-field behaviour during a defeat to Senegal as “repulsive”, and in November he insisted he would “review” the player’s behaviour after the way he reacted to being substituted against Albania.

Despite those issues, Ruchel brought him on at half time in England’s 1-0 win over New Zealand over the weekend, and he was even captain for the second half.

Tuchel added to reporters: “You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite.

“This is his key characteristic, but you can see that he comes from an injury and is full of energy and happy to be back on the pitch.

“He had his break, unfortunately, in a decisive part of the season, the Champions League season and campaign for the championship in Spain, so this was very unfortunate for Real Madrid and for him personally.

“But you can see now that he is actually in a sweet spot. He comes back, he’s fresh, he wants to play and he’s in top shape.”

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