England manager Tuchel states Bellingham faces competition to start at the 2026 World Cup.
Thomas Tuchel acknowledges that Jude Bellingham faces an uphill battle to secure a starting berth in England's World Cup squad due to the manager's wealth of options. The Real Madrid midfielder has started just four matches under Tuchel since January 2025, with three additional substitute appearances. Instead, Tuchel has favored Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, who has featured in 12 of Tuchel's 13 games and played every minute of England's eight World Cup qualifiers.
When questioned about Bellingham's prospects of starting, Tuchel confirmed the player's challenge directly. 'Yes, he has,' Tuchel responded. 'He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters.' He then emphasized the fluid nature of positions, stating, 'These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.'
Bellingham's situation contrasts sharply with his Euro 2024 campaign, where he played every minute of all seven matches for England. His participation has been inconsistent under Tuchel, missing two qualifiers last September due to a shoulder injury and being left out of October's squad, including a match against Latvia. After returning in November, he was unavailable for March friendlies because of a recurring hamstring problem.
Bellingham's relationship with Tuchel has drawn attention, particularly after the manager criticized his on-field conduct during a June loss to Senegal, calling it 'repulsive' before later apologizing. In November, Tuchel indicated he would 'review' Bellingham's reaction to being substituted during a qualifier versus Albania. However, the coach praised Bellingham's performance in a recent World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand, noting he has found a 'sweet spot' ahead of the tournament.
Tuchel highlighted Bellingham's decisive nature and energy following the New Zealand match. 'You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite,' Tuchel noted. '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 also acknowledged Bellingham's unfortunate timing with injuries disrupting his season at Real Madrid, adding, '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.'