Tuchel explains Bellingham omission and key England squad selections | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has explained the reasoning behind his decision to leave Jude Bellingham out of his latest England men’s squad for the October international break.

The Three Lions host Wales for an international friendly at Wembley Stadium next Thursday before travelling to Latvia for a FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Bellingham recently returned to action for Real Madrid after recovering from shoulder surgery. He has made one start in all competitions this season, plus three appearances off the bench.

Tuchel explains Bellingham omission from England squad

Tuchel, who also didn’t call up Phil Foden, Adam Wharton or Jack Grealish, explained that he wanted continuity in his England squad selection and omitted Bellingham has he is not at “full rhythm” yet.

“He is a special player and for special players there can always be special rules. But we decided to keep with the straightforward decision of inviting the same group.

“Jude always deserves to be here. There is also the situation that he is not quite gathered his full rhythm again at Real Madrid – he has not finished a full match.

“He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call.”

The German continued: “Do I believe we are a stronger team with Jude? Yes. Is he one of the best players in midfield in the world? Yes.

“This is a team sport. We have to find solutions. I think we have found solutions in the last camp. This is more about the last camp and what we started to build. We can have injuries of hugely influential players. It can never be the solution to depend on one player.”

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Asked if there were any personal issues between himself and Bellingham, Tuchel answered “no”. He added: “There is also no problem with Phil Foden or Jack Grealish either.

“Phil is back influencing and deciding games for Manchester City. Jack is very close to being back to the best version of himself. There is no personal problem.”

Tuchel added that Crystal Palace midfielder Wharton deserves to be in the squad due to his good form in the Premier League, despite leaving him out. The 21-year-old earned his one and only England cap under Gareth Southgate in 2024.

“Phil Foden is in a very good moment. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Curtis Jones and Trevoh Chalobah are getting minutes with their clubs.

“There are players who deserve to be here. Cole Palmer is injured who is a special player. It will always be like this.”

Tuchel also believes it’s important to build squad depth ahead of the World Cup in case of injuries to key players.

“What happens if Jude Bellingham or Cole Palmer get injured before a World Cup? We have to find solutions and I think we have in the last camp.

“This is more about last camp and what we started to build rather than the dependency on individual players.

“Declan Rice, John Stones, Harry Kane – we can have influential injuries. You can never depend on one player.”

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