Bellingham's Midfield Riddle for England
Thomas Tuchel walked away from England’s 2-0 win over Panama with the result he wanted – and a midfield riddle he didn’t.
Jude Bellingham, unleashed in a deeper role alongside Elliot Anderson, ran the game. A goal, an assist, and that familiar sense that wherever the ball dropped, he was already there. It was the kind of performance that forces a manager to rip up his best-laid plans.
The problem? That patch of grass is usually Declan Rice territory.
Bellingham changes the picture
Against Panama, Bellingham didn’t float around as a classic No 10. He started deeper, facing the whole game, driving through traffic rather than waiting for the ball to reach him. It suited him – and it suited England.
Paul Merson, watching on, saw a midfielder who was simply harder to contain when arriving from behind the play. From that deeper pocket, Bellingham could surge past markers, appear on the edge of the box, and time his runs into dangerous areas. Panama never really got a grip on him.
It also threw a harsh light on the man who did wear the No 10: Morgan Rogers. He barely influenced the game, just as Bellingham himself had struggled in that advanced role against Ghana, who sat in and clogged up the central spaces. When opponents defend that deep, the traditional playmaker zone becomes a traffic jam.
As Merson pointed out, in that congestion it’s the deeper midfielder who can break lines and arrive unexpectedly. That was Bellingham against Panama. It is usually Rice’s canvas.
And so Tuchel has a choice to make.
Rice plays – so what happens to everyone else?
For Merson, one thing is non-negotiable: if Declan Rice is fit, he starts. Especially now, as the World Cup steps into the knockout phase and the opponents grow sharper.
“No disrespect to Panama,” runs the logic, but when the bigger nations roll into view, you need Rice’s control, positioning and defensive security. That is the base England have built around for years.
So the question is not Rice or Bellingham. It’s Rice and who? And where?
Pairing Rice and Bellingham as the two deeper midfielders would be a brutal call on Elliot Anderson, who impressed again, but it might be where this tournament naturally drifts. The knock-on effect, though, is obvious: what do you then do with the No 10 role?
Rogers didn’t take his chance against Panama. Bellingham didn’t fully convince there against Ghana. Yet England still need someone in that pocket who can receive under pressure and link the game. The structure has to get the ball into that player’s feet, or the entire attacking plan stalls.
That, in essence, is Tuchel’s headache: the best version of Bellingham might be in Rice’s zone, but the team still needs a functioning playmaker further up.
Getting the ball to the difference-makers
Merson’s main concern isn’t just where Bellingham stands on the pitch. It’s how often he actually sees the ball.
Against Ghana, Bellingham kept showing, kept making angles, and still England didn’t feed him enough. The comparison Merson reached for was Lionel Messi – not in talent, but in principle. Argentina funnel the ball to Messi, even in tight areas, trusting him to wriggle free. England, he argued, must develop that same instinct with Bellingham.
He wants it. He can handle it. The team has to be brave enough to give it to him.
That becomes even more important against DR Congo in the last 32. They, too, are likely to defend deep, leave 10 men behind the ball, and dare England to break them down. If Bellingham is moved back to No 10, he’ll again be trying to operate in the most congested part of the pitch. If he stays deeper, England must still find a way to connect him to whoever takes that advanced role.
Either way, the onus is on England to find their creative hubs quickly, before the game drifts into the kind of slow, predictable pattern that suits the underdog.
Wide men waiting to ignite
Out wide, the story is similar: lots of possession, not enough incision.
Marcus Rashford saw plenty of the ball in the first half against Panama, especially after the clamour for him to start ahead of Anthony Gordon, but there was little end product. Bukayo Saka, usually such a reliable outlet, looks short of his usual spark. He may be managing a knock – no one outside the camp truly knows – but Merson still cannot envisage a scenario where Saka doesn’t start the big games.
This, in his eyes, is actually a quiet positive. England are not leaning on a single talisman. Harry Kane has his goals, the defence held firm against Ghana, Bellingham dominated Panama. Different players have carried the load at different moments.
The wingers, Merson reckons, have been six out of 10 so far. That leaves room – and time – for them to jump a few levels as the tournament deepens. If they do, if even one or two of them catch fire in the knockouts, they could become the decisive edge Tuchel needs.
A seven out of 10 – and still in the hunt
Merson’s verdict on England’s group stage is blunt: a seven out of 10. Job done against Croatia, Ghana and Panama, but nothing that will scare the heavyweights.
He sees a side that must improve, and quickly. You can’t simply flick a switch in the quarter-finals and expect to overpower France, or outmanoeuvre Spain. Performances have to build, layer by layer, starting with DR Congo.
Across the tournament, the field looks open. France carry frightening attacking power. Spain are Spain – slick, controlled, but often keep you in the game. Colombia have caught the eye with pace, energy and a natural feel for the conditions. Plenty of teams have match-winners. Plenty can hurt you on a good day.
England are in that group. Not flawless, not frightening yet, but still very much alive.
There have already been reality checks – the grind against Ghana, the frustrations even in beating Panama. Those are warnings. They’re also survivable, as long as the level now rises.
Tuchel’s team remain in the tournament, in the knockouts, with Rice returning and Bellingham in irresistible form. The midfield puzzle is real. So is the opportunity.
Solve it, and England don’t just have a chance to go far. They have a chance to win the whole thing.
