Thomas Tuchel has a tough decision to make over who starts for England in the no.10 spot behind Harry Kane, with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers vying for the role ahead of their World Cup opener
Thomas Tuchel has declared that Jude Bellingham has a fight on his hands to start England’s World Cup opener, warning that his squad contains “14 or 15 potential starters” – and the Real Madrid midfielder is just one of them.
“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.”
Yet Tuchel was quick to offer encouragement after Bellingham’s eye-catching substitute appearance in Saturday’s 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand in Tampa, believing the 22-year-old has hit a “sweet spot” heading into the tournament. “You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite,” the England head coach said.
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“He comes back 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. 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.”
Bellingham took the captain’s armband after replacing Morgan Rogers at half-time against New Zealand, pressing his claim to start in the No 10 role when England face Croatia in their Group L curtain-raiser on 17 June.
The Bellingham-Rogers battle is by far the most intriguing of the selection calls Tuchel must make before naming his side. Bellingham is, alongside Harry Kane, the most recognisable face in this England squad, but after an injury-disrupted campaign at Real Madrid and with well-documented tensions in his relationship with Tuchel, the 22-year-old risks beginning the tournament on the bench.
Rogers has instead emerged as a genuine contender following an exceptional season for Aston Villa in which he scored 14 goals – many of which were spectacular, long-range efforts – and contributed 11 assists for the Europa League winners. The Villa man featured in 12 of Tuchel’s 13 matches in charge and was the only player to appear in all eight of England’s World Cup qualifying matches.
Tuchel’s midfield is expected to be built around Declan Rice as the defensive anchor, with Elliot Anderson providing energy and creativity alongside either Bellingham or Rogers. Of the two fixtures since the start of the season in which both players were available, each has been named in the starting line-up once, leaving the question genuinely open.
Tuchel himself had conflicted feelings after the New Zealand victory, slamming the side’s “freestyle” opening 45 minutes while welcoming Bellingham’s second-half impact. “I’m OK with it,” was the German’s assessment.
“I like the second half more than the first half. We played more from our positions and that’s why we played with more speed and off the ball we played with a bit more bite. The first half we were out of positions and it was a bit too much freestyle.”
Kane’s 79th international goal just before the interval was the difference at Raymond James Stadium, and the England captain made clear he is in peak condition ahead of the tournament. “Playing for England is my favourite thing to do,” Kane said. “I wear the shirt with immense pride, I wear the armband with immense pride. To be able to lead another group of guys into another World Cup is obviously a special feeling. We go into it with high expectations. I feel as good as I’ve ever felt and it can’t come soon enough.”
England travel to Orlando to face Costa Rica on Wednesday in their final warm-up fixture, and that match is likely to offer further clues as to whether Tuchel will opt for Bellingham’s big-game pedigree or Rogers’ consistency and relentless work rate when the World Cup begins in earnest.