England: Thomas Tuchel reveals two reasons for Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice decision vs Panama | OneFootball

England boss Thomas Tuchel has explained why he chose to start Jude Bellingham alongside Elliot Anderson against Panama.

Partly due to injuries, Tuchel has made five changes for England’s final Group L match against Panama on Saturday night.

England trio Reece James, Declan Rice and Anderson are carrying knocks, and the Manchester City-bound midfielder is the only one selected in the starting XI for Panama.

It has been suggested that James could miss England’s first knockout match, while Rice has been rested for the Panama game.

Without Rice, Bellingham will drop deeper to play alongside Anderson, while Jarell Quansah, Nico O’Reilly, Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford have come into the team.

And Tuchel has explained his reasoning for making so many changes for the Panama match.

“We feel very well prepared. Strong team on the pitch and ready to go and prove a point and do the next step and win the match,” Tuchel said ahead of England’s game vs Panama.

On his five changes, he added: “I’m always excited about my team because we have a strong squad to select from.

“The target is to speed up the game because it’s very difficult if we always play against 10 men defending with devotion and commitment. We have some things to improve.”

When asked to elaborate on Rashford and Saka coming in as England’s starting wingers, Tuchel was insistent that this was not due to other players struggling.

“You focus too much on individual positions,” Tuchel responded.

“It’s not like Marcus for Anthony [Gordon] and everything is solved. Anthony did well, Marcus did well from the bench and now it’s a turnaround.

“Noni [Madueke] did well, now Saka has a chance to start. It’s units on the side, we attack on the side and they all play into this. It’s not just about Marcus or Anthony.”

Thomas Tuchel explains Jude Bellingham decision

Ahead of the World Cup, the battle between Bellingham and Rogers to be England’s starting No.10 dominated the conversation, but they start together against Panama.

And Tuchel has revealed that two factors involving Declan Rice factored into his decision to play Bellingham alongside Anderson.

Tuchel said: “I take care of Declan’s situation. He got a knock but is ready to play but I would like to manage his minutes. He has a yellow card so I want to see how this match plays out.

“Is it an intense match, are there a lot of duels, how is the referee with yellow cards? I need to get a feel for that and Declan knows that, that’s why Jude goes in the eight position and Morgan is on the 10.”