Jude Bellingham's World Cup Challenge: Thomas Tuchel's England Selection
Thomas Tuchel has warned that Jude Bellingham faces a genuine battle to keep his England place at the World Cup – even as he insists the Real Madrid star remains “one of the starters” in a stacked squad.
The England manager, who took charge in January 2025, made it clear he will not build his team around reputations. Not even Bellingham’s.
“He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters,” Tuchel told reporters. “These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”
That single line captures England’s new reality under Tuchel: no automatic choices, no guaranteed shirts.
From Euro ever-present to rotation risk
Bellingham arrived at this World Cup cycle as the face of the national team. Under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024 he was untouchable, missing just 29 minutes across seven matches and driving England’s run through the tournament.
Under Tuchel, the landscape has shifted.
Since the German’s appointment, Bellingham has started only four times, with three further appearances from the bench. The England midfield has been reshaped, and the player who once seemed undroppable now finds himself part of a wider cast.
The big beneficiary has been Morgan Rogers. The Aston Villa midfielder has become a symbol of Tuchel’s meritocracy, featuring in 12 of the manager’s 13 games in charge and appearing in all eight World Cup qualifiers. While Bellingham’s minutes have fluctuated, Rogers has quietly become one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Injuries, omissions and a strained relationship
Bellingham’s stop-start year has not helped. A shoulder injury ruled him out of two qualifiers in September. When he recovered, the recall did not immediately follow. Tuchel left him out of the October camp, including a qualifier against Latvia, a decision that sharpened the spotlight on their relationship.
He returned to the squad in November, only for a persistent hamstring problem to deny him minutes again in March’s friendlies. For a player used to relentless rhythm at club and country, the interruptions have been jarring.
Around it all, the dynamic between star midfielder and head coach has been under constant scrutiny.
Tuchel’s description of Bellingham’s on-field behaviour during last June’s defeat by Senegal as “repulsive” triggered a storm. The manager later apologised, but the word lingered. So did the sense of friction. In November, Tuchel publicly promised to “review” Bellingham’s behaviour after the player’s reaction to being substituted in a qualifier against Albania.
It was a rare, raw clash between a rising global star and a coach determined to impose standards.
A “sweet spot” at the right time
In Tampa on Saturday, though, the mood shifted.
Bellingham came off the bench at half-time in the 1-0 World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand and took the captain’s armband. Tuchel saw a different version of his midfielder: sharp, driven, and crucially, channelling his edge in the right way.
“You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite,” Tuchel said. “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.”
The manager pointed to the timing of Bellingham’s recent lay-off. The hamstring issue cost him a decisive stretch of Real Madrid’s season, depriving him of the Champions League run-in and the title chase in Spain.
“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,” Tuchel said. “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.”
Fresh, hungry, and still not guaranteed a place. That is Tuchel’s England.
Bellingham may wear the armband in a friendly and carry the aura of a superstar, but in this squad he is part of a 14 or 15-strong core all vying to start. The fight the manager spoke about is real, and it starts before a ball is even kicked in the World Cup.
