Jude Bellingham's Challenge for England's World Cup Starting XI
Thomas Tuchel has warned that Jude Bellingham faces a genuine battle to keep his place in England’s World Cup starting XI – even while insisting the Real Madrid midfielder remains one of his “proper starters”.
Since Tuchel replaced Gareth Southgate in January 2025, the dynamic around England’s midfield has shifted. Bellingham, who was virtually untouchable at Euro 2024 and missed only 29 minutes of the entire tournament, has started just four games under the German, with three more appearances coming from the bench.
In his place, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers has quietly become one of the pillars of the new regime. Rogers has featured in 12 of Tuchel’s 13 matches in charge and was the only player to appear in all eight World Cup qualifiers, a clear marker of trust from the head coach.
Asked directly if Bellingham now has a fight on his hands to make the team, Tuchel did not duck the question.
“Yes, he has,” he said. “He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters.
“These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”
It is a blunt message wrapped in a compliment. Bellingham is still in Tuchel’s inner circle, but he is no longer the automatic pick he was under Southgate.
Injuries have played their part in that shift. The 22-year-old missed two qualifiers last September with a shoulder problem, then watched October’s international camp – including a key game against Latvia – from home after being overlooked. He returned to the squad in November, only to miss March’s friendlies with a persistent hamstring issue that disrupted the closing stretch of his season with Real Madrid.
The stop-start rhythm has fuelled scrutiny of his relationship with Tuchel, which has already had flashpoints. During last June’s defeat to Senegal, the England manager described Bellingham’s on-field behaviour as “repulsive” – a word he later apologised for. Months later, in November, Tuchel publicly promised to “review” the midfielder’s behaviour after Bellingham reacted angrily to being substituted in a qualifier against Albania.
The tension has never been far from the surface. Yet in Tampa on Saturday, there were signs of a reset.
Bellingham came on at half-time in the 1-0 World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand and took the captain’s armband, a symbolic gesture that underlined his standing in the squad. Tuchel liked what he saw.
“You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite,” the England boss said. “This is his key characteristic, but you can see that he comes from an injury and is full of energy and happy to be back on the pitch.
“He had his break, unfortunately, in a decisive part of the season, the Champions League season and campaign for the championship in Spain, so this was very unfortunate for Real Madrid and for him personally.
“But you can see now that he is actually in a sweet spot. He comes back, he's fresh, he wants to play and he's in top shape.”
That “sweet spot” could not be better timed. England head into the World Cup with a manager who openly talks about having 14 or 15 players he considers starters, a luxury that doubles as a warning. Reputation alone will not protect anyone.
For Bellingham, the message is clear: the armband in Tampa was not a guarantee, it was a challenge.
