England Ladder: Are there really ‘serious questions’ over Bellingham’s World Cup squad place? | OneFootball

England completed a successful 2025 in enormously predictable fashion.

Another couple of wins. Another couple of clean sheets. Another couple of Harry Kane goals that don’t count. Another Daily Mail hatchet job on Jude Bellingham. Just your bog-standard international break for England these days.

We already knew before it they’d be off to the World Cup, but are we any clearer now as to which specific players will be doing so?

Here’s the latest all-important F365 England Ladder, with October’s rankings in brackets – you can read the full thing here.

As ever, the rules of the Ladder are that this is not our ranking, but our best guess at what we think Thomas Tuchel is thinking. And he can be a tricky fella to read, sometimes, but we do think we’re starting to get a clearer idea now of what makes him tick.

Which only makes it funnier just how far off the mark huge swathes of this will be by March.

1) Harry Kane (1)

The easy part of the Ladder is still easy. We’re not even pretending to shuffle him down to two or three just to feel alive. He is still England’s most important and least-challenged player.

Even when Thomas Tuchel made a bunch of changes for the dead rubber against Albania, Harry Kane remained. Even when Thomas Tuchel made a bunch of second-half substitutions in the dead rubber against Albania, Harry Kane remained. And then scored the two late goals to complete the flawless qualification campaign. Because that is simply what Harry Kane does.

He now has more international goals than Pele (without scoring a single one that counts), and his next England goal will lift him into the top 10 all-time for men’s international goals, level with Neymar and just behind Ferenc Puskas. Joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the legendary Ali Daei in the 100 club is now very, very possible.

With Ollie Watkins struggling for form and fitness and absolutely nobody else seemingly even in the frame, it’s even now possible that Kane winds up the only specialist No. 9 in Thomas Tuchel’s squad, with your Marcus Rashfords and Phil Fodens and the Cole Palmers of this world providing potential back up as nines of varying degrees of falseness. Tuchel himself described such a scenario as ‘possible’ but unlikely.

And, of course, even describing Kane as a ‘specialist No. 9’ is to traduce one of the world’s very best players, who is also a more than handy No. 10, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8.

It’s a bit of a shame he went in goal that time for Spurs in the Lamela Rabona game and answered the question of whether he could play there too with such an emphatic ‘no’, because otherwise we’d strongly suspect he could.

2) Declan Rice (2)

His usual serene, game-running self in the win over Serbia, but was one of several players left slightly discombobulated by Thomas Tuchel’s experimental approach to the first half in Albania.

We’ve absolutely no problem with anything Tuchel tried in that first half – if not then, when? – and even the 3-2-2-3’s near total failure to launch taught the manager and us something useful. And equally we’re not really perturbed by the players struggling to get to grips with it.

This was an experiment Tuchel justifiably felt able to implement because things were going so well; it will only be seen again if things are going so wrong.

Rice was back to his usual self in the more familiar shape deployed in the second half, and remains as indelibly inked-in and integral as ever.

Mandatory comment here about set-piece delivery and its potential outsized importance for the nitty-gritty of a major tournament.

3) Jordan Pickford (3)

Kept another facile clean sheet in the first qualifier of the break, taking his personal clean sheet streak for England to 10 games since the 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley in October last year.

Thomas Tuchel still hasn’t seen Pickford pick the ball out of his net in any England game he’s managed, which is a daftness no matter the level of opposition.

Amusingly, the almost sarcastically under-employed Pickford was then rested for the final qualifier in Albania, and got to sit back and watch Dean Henderson have more to do in that one game than he’d had in the previous seven combined.

4) John Stones (5)

It was a while before Tuchel was able to call on Stones, but since then he’s been a fixture in the side and that tells you something.

There are still some who argue he’s in a three-way battle for two starting spots with Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, but we’re increasingly convinced that pair are fighting to start alongside Stones.

Whatever the truth of it, those three are now head and shoulders clear of anyone else in the centre-back conversation.

Tuchel had spoken before about Stones’ midfield potential, and it was interesting – if not particularly successful – to see him try it out in that final game against Albania.

5) Bukayo Saka (4)

Lovely goal against Serbia to deliver on a direct request for more goal contributions, and then came off the bench to set up the opener for Kane in Albania in what was a slightly curious half-hour cameo that featured one odd decision to try and tee up a team-mate when another goal appeared certain had he gone for it himself.

Either way, still absolutely no reason to doubt he’s a certain starter on the right of England’s attack if all things are equal next June, despite the estimable competition provided by Noni Madueke and Jarrod Bowen. Both are enormously capable, neither is in Saka’s class.

6) Elliot Anderson (6)

The speed with which Elliot Anderson has become the undisputed first choice in what was one of England’s problem positions alongside Declan Rice is pretty extraordinary. It really is only something that’s come about across this season’s three international breaks.

Quietly impeccable again against Serbia at Wembley, and even earned (most of) a night off in Albania as Adam Wharton got his chance to impress.

As ever, the Ladder is our estimation of the England manager’s position on players and when he talks we listen.

We cannot argue with that, and have no desire to do so.

7) Jude Bellingham (12)

Tuchel couldn’t help but – in our view unnecessarily – stir the pot with a bit of an OTT reaction to Bellingham’s pretty standard frustration at being substituted late on in Tirana, but the fact he got that start, the fact he was so eye-catching even when not at his best and, most importantly, the fact he is simply a better footballer than Morgan Rogers means we do now have just about enough evidence that when it comes to it and the real business begins next summer, Jude Bellingham will be England’s No. 10.

It really is no slight on Rogers to suggest that by next summer the idea that six months earlier it was even a meaningful debate at all will look a bit odd.

Still, though, this is based on what we think Tuchel is thinking and we’re still not entirely sure he’s as convinced this is a closed conversation as we are, so Bellingham’s upward movement remains conservative for now.

But Bellingham is a generational talent and Tuchel absolutely knows this. Sorry, Daily Mail, there really aren’t ‘serious questions over his World Cup inclusion’ no matter how much that boils your hateful acrid p*ss.

8) Reece James (7)

The eighth player we believe to be inked in to England’s starting XI for June, and the only reason he isn’t three or four places higher up the list is that even with the Ladder’s usual rules about assuming everyone is injury-free, we simply cannot even comprehend a universe where Reece James is reliably injury-free.

Which is really bloody annoying actually, because he’s entirely and reliably excellent in every other way.

9) Anthony Gordon (9)

Must have feared the worst when ruled out of this break through injury, but two things are true.

First, when given the opportunity to select Gordon, Tuchel has generally selected Gordon.

And second, neither Marcus Rashford against Serbia nor Eberechi Eze against Albania did enough to really suggest they can rip the starting shirt away from the Newcastle man.

Also, when you think about it, the fact both Eze (against Serbia) and Rashford (against Albania) were far more impressive when coming off the bench to make a late impact only strengthens Gordon’s case to be the starter out of that trio.

As far as missed international breaks through injury go, that was an absolute belter for Gordon. The team didn’t suffer any unpleasant consequences whatsoever, but nor did anything happen to remotely diminish his own standing and prospects. You’ll take that in the middle of such a busy season.

10) Marc Guehi (7)

Like Gordon, he was missing from this camp, and like Gordon it probably hasn’t done him too much harm.

We thought he was in a straight fight with Ezri Konsa to start alongside John Stones, and we still think that after watching Konsa look very good against Serbia and Dan Burn look…not so good against Albania.

At the very, very least his place in that group of top three centre-back options hasn’t been challenged, with Burn having a rough time and Jarell Quansah finally getting a debut but getting it in a weird and confusing right-back/right-centre-back-of-three hybrid role that didn’t really give him the best foundations upon which to attempt a bit of claim-staking.

We think Tuchel slightly favours Guehi over Konsa, and don’t think we’re doing that thing where we project our own instincts on to the manager. Either way, if the sort of selection debate we’re worried about when the World Cup comes around is ‘Guehi or Konsa’ we will sleep easy in our beds knowing we don’t much care either way because it’s going to be absolutely fine. Given some of the scenarios we’ve had before, this one feels like extremely small beer.

11) Nico O’Reilly (26)

One of the key things we’ve learned about Tuchel thus far is that when you’re in, you’re in until you’re not. He’s already made it a feature of his selection methods as an international manager – worth remembering this is all new to him as well – that players who do the job for him will not be replaced just because some bigger or shinier name comes back in the fold.

One exception to this, we think, is at left-back. It’s the one position where it feels like Tuchel really is still experimenting because he needs to, rather than resting players because he can or adapting to the availability picture in front of him.

As such, we’re not quite willing to say that Nico O’Reilly’s pair of wonderfully assured performances in that position in this break have cemented his place. But it does now feel like his shirt to lose, even if that is pretty harsh on Djed Spence – who was exemplary on both flanks in October.

Does feel like there’s still a fight here, though, one that your Lewis Halls and Myles Lewis-Skellys may yet have their say in as well.

12) Ezri Konsa (13)

Had one particularly eye-catching moment when marshalling Dusan Vlahovic expertly against Serbia and as we’ve already said, we think he’s in a pretty close scrap with Marc Guehi to partner John Stones, and we are extremely comfortable with whichever way that particular cookie crumbles.

His ability to do a very tidy job at right-back might, in a weird way, hurt his starting chances; in a major tournament you might not want to risk having to separate your starting centre-back pairing because Reece James is injured again.

But that versatility absolutely locks down a squad place. We’re still very much in ‘on the plane’ territory here.

13) Morgan Rogers (10)

Slips outside the starting XI now, we think. Is unlucky really to have Bellingham as his direct competition, and may eventually suffer from offering less squad-building versatility than other players who could potentially play at 10 but also offer options out wide, like Eberechi Eze or Cole Palmer or even Phil Foden.

But he’s played better for England in that 10 role than any of those lads, and we know Tuchel values that enormously highly. He can have no complaints about anything Rogers has done for him, and while it wouldn’t enter our heads to do so it still wouldn’t entirely surprise us to see Rogers’ name on that starting team-sheet in seven months.

As ever when discussing Rogers v Bellingham, we’re aware we can come off quite disparaging to the Villa man. We don’t mean to be. He’s excellent, we would be entirely unconcerned if England need to use him in tournament conditions. He played in every single game of what was a uniquely successful qualifying campaign for England.

He’s just not Jude Bellingham.

14) Dean Henderson (21)

Had a busier game against Albania than Pickford has had against anyone in an England shirt this year, but for Henderson that’s probably a blessing. He actually got the chance to show Tuchel what he can do after being one of the players to suffer in the Senegal game, and kept a clean sheet that was nothing like the formality of so many of Pickford’s.

There were smart saves and some good decision-making from Henderson. Nothing that has any chance of unseating Pickford as No. 1, of course, but the Albania game has absolutely solidified Henderson’s claim on first-reserve status, with James Trafford simply not playing any football and Nick Pope unfortunately ruled out after a hard-earned recall.

15) Jordan Henderson (14)

If you’d told us a couple of years back that Jordan Henderson would be a Thomas Tuchel regular for England with a significant and clearly-defined role at his big age we’d have been so alarmed we probably wouldn’t even have registered our surprise at Thomas Tuchel being England manager.

Now, though? We’re fine with it. He brings experience and leadership to the squad and his role within the squad is clear; he’s maybe fourth or fifth choice to actually start in central midfield, but absolutely first-choice sub to come on in there when there’s a job that must be done.

16) Marcus Rashford (18)

Still seems like a straight fight between him and Anthony Gordon to start on the left for England and while it would be no surprise to see Rashford continuing to deliver the more eye-catching contributions at club level, where all his problems really do seem to have been solved by the one neat trick of simply joining one of the biggest football clubs on earth, we know how high a value Tuchel places on the work people have done specifically for him.

And, given the opportunity in this window by Gordon’s injury setback, we’re just not sure Rashford did quite enough to shift the needle on the starting XI. Especially when he actually strengthened the idea that his best contributions might come from the bench by having his best contributions come against Albania, from the bench.

17) Eberechi Eze (15)

Brilliant cameo from the bench against Serbia, drab performance from the start against Albania. Not sure exactly where that leaves us or more specifically Eze really, but overall probably roughly back where we started, which is: brilliantly talented, game-changing bench option anywhere across the attack but probably not really in serious contention for any starting position.

We’re okay with it. Worth noting also that Eze, with three goals, was the only person not called Harry Kane to score more than once for England during this qualifying campaign. Feels like that definitely ought to count for something.

18) Noni Madueke (17)

We know Tuchel is a big Madueke guy, to the extent that if we take him at his word he wouldn’t even have recalled Bukayo Saka in October had Madueke not been injured himself.

It makes him among the harder players to place in this Ladder, but we do think the only real option at this time is to go with Tuchel’s confirmed high opinion of a player who should be back fit and firing by the time the next squad comes around in March.

Before his injury, Madueke was statistically perhaps the most important non-Kane attacker for England during this qualifying campaign, leading the way in both chances created per 90 and dribbles per 90.

Second on both those metrics? Look away, Daily Mail, but it was that awful prick Jude Bellingham.

But back to Madueke, it feels certain to us that Tuchel will at least give him a chance to reassert his claims to be at least first reserve on that right-hand side come March, and we’d be pretty confident at that stage that he would take that chance.

19) Ollie Watkins (16)

Even further away from rivalling Kane for a starting spot than ever before – it really is mad to think now how the sight of Watkins replacing a lumpen and grimly ineffective Kane at the Euros was a source of such joy – but now finds his squad place under threat.

Not from any other striker – don’t worry, Ollie, there aren’t any of those – but from the slim possibility that Tuchel might not bother with one at all.

Given the paucity of the back-up options, sadly now up to and including Watkins himself, the magnificence of Kane and the multi-faceted nature of England’s great many other attacking talents, it becomes a tempting option.

If you don’t have another No. 9 you’d really trust, but you do have, say, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford and Cole Palmer, do you really need another No. 9 in there for the sake of it?

We do still kind of think that in a 26-man squad the answer is probably ‘Yes, don’t be silly, we do still need another proper striker’.

Tuchel sees it similarly, having said he will likely pick another ‘classic number nine’. That keeps Watkins above the 26-man cutline for now, but even the fact Tuchel is talking about the possibility of not having one, and pointedly refusing to dismiss the idea altogether (“I cannot rule out that we go with one striker, but it’s more likely we have more than one classic number nine”) while also not specifically mentioning Watkins by name mean it’s looking dicier than it probably should for someone with literally no meaningful competition at this time.

20) Phil Foden (33)

Back in the fold and given a couple of different roles in the Serbia and Albania games as Tuchel tries to succeed where others have failed and unlock Foden’s obvious talents in an England setting.

We do like the false nine option deployed against Serbia; anything that reduces the need for unnecessary spare Kane back-ups in the squad in favour of more versatile players is to be encouraged.

The collective will for Foden to show what he can do for England perhaps led to be a bit of an over-reaction to his assist for Eberechi Eze’s goal – described in at least one place as ‘putting it on a plate’ for the Arsenal playmaker. But we’re not having it as the easy-peasy straightforward pass some naysayers have insisted it was on the other side of the debate.

One of the advantages of having skilled finishers in creative positions is they know exactly what pass they would want to receive if roles were reversed, and Foden’s pass to Eze was exactly that. Perfect weight, perfect line, so that Eze didn’t have to break stride and a difficult finish was made as easy as it could be.

Against Albania, we even got a brief glimpse of the Foden-Bellingham-Kane triangle Tuchel had previously dismissed as impossible. So there’s definitely hope.

It still feels like at least one ludicrously talented attacking player is going to miss out when Tuchel’s final 26 is named, but it’s less likely now than it was a fortnight ago for Foden’s to be that name.

21) Dan Burn (24)

Appears to be fourth-choice centre-back. As sanguine as we are about the first three centre-backs, this fills us with some kind of dread.

We would really very much like something more compelling and bit less cumbersome to make itself known by March, please and thank you.

He’s a good lad is Burn, and it’s been a great story. But we really don’t think he’s good enough, and he’s now the one player we’ve got inside the 26-man cutline about whom we have those kind of deep-lying fears.

22) Cole Palmer (20)

Time is running out and others are making strong claims for all sorts of roles within England’s attack. As we’ve said time and again elsewhere, there are simply more excellent attacking players available to Tuchel than squad positions for them all and someone deserving of a place – probably multiple someones – is going to miss out.

And there is a real risk that Palmer, who has played only 64 minutes for England under Tuchel in their least convincing performance (the 1-0 win over Andorra), is such a someone.

Probably not. Still probably not. On balance, his ability and versatility still probably tip the scales far enough his way. Especially if he can recover sufficient goalscoring touch to convince Tuchel he can offer a meaningful option as the focus of England’s attack rather as well as one of its support riders.

Does feel quite mad to be talking about someone we tried and failed to squeeze into the F365 England starting XI perhaps missing out on the squad altogether, but that’s the level of competition.

There will, inevitably, be stuff in here that looks absolutely mental come March. Because that’s four months away, and there’s stuff that looks mental from one Ladder to the next when there’s only one month between them.

But we really hope ‘Palmer might not even make the squad’ is one of the things that looks really crazy by March.

23) Djed Spence (11)

A touch overpromoted in October on the back of our desire for neatness and trying to make the first 11 names on the ladder represent an actual starting XI, but despite being a non-playing member of the squad in this break he doesn’t fall too far.

Tuchel’s obvious dislike of Spence’s infamous Thomas Frank snub after the Chelsea game felt a bit OTT and quite schoolmasterly to us – and also quite funny given Tuchel’s own history with handshakes at the end of games between Chelsea and Tottenham – but can’t be ignored either given the Ladder’s remit.

But we still think Tuchel values Spence’s pure defensive ability as a full-back with tough major tournament tests in mind. He might not be first choice or even necessarily first reserve on either flank, but we’d still be surprised to see him left out altogether because he does offer that one-on-one ability to nullify the best, and that’s a powerful weapon to have in the arsenal for a player who is also perfectly capable of starting any game at full-back on either flank.

24) Tino Livramento (19)

Could return to Newcastle this weekend after missing their last nine games through injury, and no specialist has staked much of a claim to be the second right-back in the squad.

Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah have all been used there in addition to obvious first choice Reece James, and that can’t do Livramento any harm.

And while Spence in particular offers a solid defensive option on that right-hand side, we’re still not sure you’d really want to be picking a 26-man squad in which Reece ‘Darren Anderton’ James is your only specialist right-back.

Livramento, despite his own recent injury struggles, hasn’t really been usurped at all in the fight to be that second specialist right-back.

25) Adam Wharton (29)

We’ve desperately wanted to put him higher and higher in the Ladder but couldn’t because it’s the England manager’s Ladder, not ours. And for some inexplicable reason, we are not the England manager.

We really do think Wharton, with his vision and line-breaking passing ability is the kind of high-risk, high-reward player you want in a tournament squad. There’s a make-something-happen quality to him that doesn’t really show itself in stats or data. He’s an old-school player who absolutely has to be watched to be appreciated.

A bit unfortunate to get his chance in an experimental formation, one that confused more experienced international minds than his, but still did well even when often finding himself as a pretty isolated single-pivot in England’s midfield.

Tuchel acknowledged as much after the Albania game, while also stressing that isolation was not Wharton’s fault. We’ve heard enough: Tuchel likes him, up the list he goes to join Rice, Anderson and Henderson among Tuchel’s World Cup midfield options.

26) James Trafford (25)

Lucky to get a reprieve and find himself in this squad with Nick Pope suffering cruel injury timing, and for now that means, with the clock ticking and only one more England camp before final squad choices are made, we’re leaning towards Tuchel sticking with what he knows for such a low-key position as third-choice keeper.

But if by March Pope is playing well for Newcastle and Trafford is still riding the bench at Man City, he can have few complaints if he loses even that bench-warming position for his country.

27) Jarrod Bowen (22)

Was England’s best and most consistent attacking threat in that disjointed first half against Albania and we do really like the energy that Bowen brings to the table. Does feel like he offers a tangible point of difference as a right-wing option in comparison to Saka and Madueke.

But Bowen surely sits behind that pair in Tuchel’s thinking when everyone’s fit, and that leaves the West Ham man in some significant danger of finding himself without a seat when the music stops next year. He’d be desperately unfortunate to miss out on the squad, but we’re finding it increasingly hard to work out how Tuchel can possibly pick a coherent, balanced squad without some enormously talented attacking players being desperately unfortunate.

Unless there’s a wild injury crisis, and we really don’t want to wish that into existence no matter how much easier it would make this – ultimately trivial – Ladder to compile.

28) Jarell Quansah (34)

Got a long-awaited and deserved debut, but got it at right-back. Or kind of right-centre-back in sort of a three-man defence but not really. In the hardest game of an admittedly easy group.

It was not fertile ground for making a great impression, but Tuchel certainly seemed to like what he saw. Personally, we thought the ‘like he had 50 caps already’ quote was a bit odd and that Quansah had done, at best, a serviceable job in an unusual position that wouldn’t really be anyone’s speciality and certainly not his.

What that ringing endorsement must do, though, is shove him up this Ladder a fair few places. That fourth centre-back spot is still there to be claimed, and incumbent Dan Burn is far from secure.

29) Nick Pope (35)

Deserved his recall and was desperately unlucky to miss out on it through concussion. Still has every chance of unseating Manchester City bench-warmer James Trafford as the third-choice keeper, but time is now tight.

30) Morgan Gibbs-White (27)

Not as good as Jude Bellingham, and more importantly not as good for England as Morgan Rogers. And Thomas Tuchel seems wildly unlikely to find room in his squad for a third No. 10 when he has so many other elite and versatile attacking choices.

31) Myles Lewis-Skelly (28)

Is now on the outside looking in and simply doesn’t appear likely to get the opportunity to play enough football to prove to anyone why that shouldn’t be the case.

There will, very obviously, be a great many more tournament chances for MLS, but it does currently seem like this one is slipping away.

32) Trent Alexander-Arnold (30)

We have never, ever really known what to do with him in the England Ladder, and we still don’t know what to do with him. Given we are literally no closer to squaring that circle than we were this time last month, we are going to quite literally repeat ourselves.

There is of course the other question: is he even a right-back? But that only makes things even less clear, and is thus a question we will ignore at this time.

33) Jack Grealish (31)

At this stage it really is starting to feel like wish fulfilment having him in the list at all. But we must allow ourselves the odd indulgence.

34) Curtis Jones (32)

Fifth-choice central midfielder? If he’s lucky. Will Tuchel pick five central midfielders? If he’s lucky.

35) Alex Scott (NE)

Got himself into the squad, which was good, but didn’t get himself onto the pitch, which is not. The call-up was deserved recognition for some eye-catching displays for Bournemouth, but the harsh truth is that when naming international rookies in a tournament squad it’s easier if they’ve at least got some halfway relevant experience from big European nights and the like.

It’s an example of big-club bias, but also a pretty understandable one. If you’ve got two inexperienced options going into a major tournament and one of them has experience under a big-club microscope, that player presents a lower risk.

36) Ruben Loftus-Cheek (23)

We’re increasingly certain Tuchel was just messing with us here, the scamp.

37) Trevoh Chalobah (36)

Still knocking around the squad and that has to mean something, but the longer his one and only cap remains the 3-1 defeat to Senegal, the greater the chance his fate is to end up 10 years from now as a missed answer in a Sporcle quiz because everyone has forgotten that’s how he spells his first name.

38) Dominic Solanke (38)

There’s a squad place absolutely there to be grabbed. Solanke seems to have spent almost the entire season one or two weeks away from a return, but if he can show any kind of form for Spurs between now and March he’s going to give himself a chance.

It’s quite damning that this is true, but that’s not Solanke’s fault. Opportunity, somehow, still knocks.

39) Luke Shaw (39)

Is it really as mad an idea as it sounds? He is still, incongruously, only 30 years old. But for a tournament schedule, yeah, it probably is a bit mad.

Has been almost ever-present for Manchester United this season, but that is in its own way damning; how much of his ability to play almost every game for United has been down to United having, through their own incompetence, a laughably light fixture list?

Even United will now sometimes have to play a couple of games a week, what with the Busy Festive Period and all. If Shaw continues to play as many of the games as he has up to now, then he could yet get his name back into the conversation.

The other awkwardness here, of course, is that the England vacancy that potentially exists is at left-back, a position that doesn’t exist in Ruben Amorim’s system at Man United.

40) Jarrad Branthwaite (37)

Latest talk is that his Everton comeback might not now come until January, despite apparently being close to a return for last month’s clash with Man City.

If that is the timeline it’s going to be mighty hard for Branthwaite to muscle in on the squad but there is a cliff drop after England’s first three centre-backs that offers hope. Please, let it offer hope. We need it to offer hope.