Tuchel warns Bellingham will have to fight for his England starting spot | OneFootball

The coach of the England national team, Thomas Tuchel, stated this Wednesday (12) that midfielder Jude Bellingham will have to “fight” to be a starter for the team, which is already qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

Bellingham is back in Tuchel's squad for the final matches of the European Qualifiers, against Serbia (Thursday) and Albania (Sunday). The 22-year-old player was not called up for the October FIFA date because he had just returned from shoulder surgery.

In his place, Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa shone wearing the number 10 jersey in the victories over Wales (3-0) and Latvia (5-0), which sealed England's qualification for next year's World Cup.

Competition

“Instead of finding a position for the best players and having them on the field, it might be better to put each one in their best position and create competition,” Tuchel reflected when asked in a press conference if he would try to include both in his team.

“At the moment the competition is between the two of them. They are friends, so it’s a friendly competition… They don’t need to be enemies or hate each other. They are respectful and should fight for the same position. Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and now is not the time to change the structure,” added the coach.

Bellingham's return comes after Tuchel had to apologize earlier this season for stating that his mother found some of the Real Madrid player's on-field actions “repulsive.”

Old Acquaintance

Another player returning to the England squad is forward Phil Foden, who was left out of the last three call-ups and was praised for his recent performances for Manchester City.

“It's good to have them back. The atmosphere over the last few days is good and everyone is happy to be in the camp,” said Tuchel.

“It's always nice to have Phil around, he's a good lad and, like Jude, he's part of this group and is happy,” he added.

In the 2026 World Cup, England will attempt to break a 60-year title drought, since they won their world title as hosts in 1966.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.