Browsing: Tuchels

• 

  Ian DarkeOct 12, 2025, 04:55 AM ET

  Close

  Darke, who called games for the network during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is ESPN lead soccer voice in the United States. He has covered the Barclays Premier League and the Champions League since 1982, and has one of the world’s most recognizable soccer voices.

Thomas Tuchel has already demonstrated throughout his club coaching career with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich that he is not afraid to ruffle feathers or argue with his bosses. That is why his appointments are often short-lived. And that tendency to never avoid confrontation was very evident in his decision to omit England’s star player, Jude Bellingham, from the squad for this month’s games against Wales and Latvia.

However, you dress this up — and Tuchel denies that he has a problem with Bellingham — it is apparent that the England boss is making a point, and arguably aiming a shot across the bows of his most gifted player. Why? Reading between the lines of many a dispatch from the England camp, it seems there is an issue with how the Real Madrid star’s demeanor has been received by some of his teammates.

– Rogers firmly enters No. 10 debate for Tuchel’s England
– When can England qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
– Why has Bellingham, officially England’s best player, been dropped?

He is a perfectionist whose body language can occasionally seem a little disdainful of less gifted colleagues. Are these accusations fair? Or is Bellingham simply trying to improve those around him to get results for the team? You suspect the player himself has, until now, been unaware of the vibes surrounding him.

Though Bellingham himself has admitted he maintains a “macho image” to deflect from personal vulnerabilities, which suggests he is hearing the current mood music.

“You notice when he is not there,” England teammate Anthony Gordon said. “He is a big presence, such a big player,”

No one is denying Bellingham’s importance to England’s World Cup mission as both creator and scorer. If the squad were to be selected tomorrow, he would certainly be included. And those who know him well, such as his good friend Jordan Henderson, describe him as a “brilliant character.”

But even going back to his Borussia Dortmund days, there were stories that some more senior players took exception to the then-teenager giving them a piece of his mind if things were going wrong.

It is easy to forget how much has happened to Bellingham. He was a fixture in Birmingham City’s team at age 16 and has since played 282 club games and 44 times for England. He has become an A-list global celebrity. So it is somewhat excusable for anyone to get a little giddy on that phenomenal success.

But here is Tuchel sending a message that he should take nothing for granted, that there are other No. 10s — such as Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers or Morgan Gibbs-White — on the radar. In other words: “Fight for your place like everyone else. There are no favorites here.”

The head coach astounded reporters last year by saying that his mother sometimes found Bellingham’s on-pitch behavior “repulsive.” He has since retracted that unfairly incriminating remark and apologized, but the quote did appear to reflect a level of dissatisfaction with how the player conducted himself.

It seems Tuchel wants a slightly modified version; a great tourist as well as a great player.

But is he right to do so? It is reminiscent of England’s only World Cup-winning manager, Sir Alf Ramsey, who liked to keep even his most trusted players guessing back in 1966.

His magnificent goalkeeper Gordon Banks left an England camp in that era with a cheery “See you next time, boss.”

“Will you?” was Ramsey’s icy response.

Jude Bellingham will look to play an important role for England under Thomas Tuchel in next summer’s World Cup. (Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

So what we are witnessing here may be Tuchel’s attempt to mold a World Cup squad free of the tensions that have undermined many a campaign for several teams, notably favorites France with their memorable row in 2010 and Spain (prior to their glut of trophies in more recent tournaments) on the frequent occasions when the rival Barcelona and Real Madrid players simply would not mix.

This week, legendary England midfielder Steven Gerrard said the talented national teams he played in failed because they were “egotistical losers” with petty cliques of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool players barely speaking.

So building a unified squad that pulls in the same direction is paramount for Tuchel, as it was for his predecessor, Sir Gareth Southgate.

It would have been easy for the England boss to explain the cold shoulder for Bellingham as an injury-related issue. He has, after all, been recovering from shoulder surgery, albeit featuring five times for Real Madrid since that operation, including starting the Madrid derby against Atlético.

But, typically, the German made it clear that it was a decision based on form, and said Bellingham had “no rhythm” in his play yet.

All of ESPN. All in one place.

Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now

Besides, he wanted to reward the players who put in a breakthrough display for him with a 5-0 win in Serbia by naming an unchanged squad, even though he had to replace injured winger Noni Madueke with Bukayo Saka.

Yet it is fair to deduce that there is another agenda at play here, namely, the quest to head to the World Cup next summer with a happy band of brothers bursting with the team spirit that can make the difference in tight games.

Tuchel, like Ramsey 59 years ago, is going to do the job his way, even if it puts some noses out of joint. He does not care about that.

It is not only a brave option, but the right one. Bellingham will return to the team determined to prove a point and, as the world-class player and top character that he is, he will have taken note of what his boss is telling him. It is all just part of the learning curve, and one day, he might reflect that the day England left him out made him realize how he could become an even better contributor to the cause.

Source link

BySteve Sutcliffe, BBC Sport journalist and Andy Cryer, BBC Sport Senior Journalist

World Cup qualifying: Latvia v England

Venue: Daugava Stadium, Riga Date: Tuesday, 14 October Time: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live; follow live text commentary, updates and be part of the conversation on BBC Sport website & app

England are one win away from securing their spot at the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Serbia’s 1-0 defeat by Albania on Saturday means Thomas Tuchel’s England can qualify by winning in Latvia on Tuesday, with two matches of their campaign still to play after that trip.

The Three Lions have not missed a major tournament since 2008, when they fell short in qualifying for the European Championship under Steve McClaren.

Tuchel’s side have won all five of their Group K fixtures to date without conceding a goal.

And their place at the most-watched sporting event on the planet next summer could now be confirmed within days.

What happens if England fail to win in Latvia?

Anything but victory in Latvia on Tuesday would leave England still looking for a win against Serbia in November to guarantee qualification.

A point in Latvia, though, would mean a draw with Serbia would all but secure their spot because England have a vastly better goal difference than second-placed Albania.

England travel to Albania for their final group fixture on 16 November.

The 12 group runners-up in the European section of qualifying will participate in the play-offs.

They will be joined by the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024-25 Nations League that did not finish in the top two of their European qualifying groups.

The 16 teams who enter the play-offs will be drawn into four play-off paths, with four teams featuring in each.

Play-off matches will consist of single-leg semi-finals followed by single-leg finals, taking place on 26 and 31 March 2026.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

England have a formidable record in qualifying for major tournaments

When could England find out who is in their World Cup group?

Should England qualify for next summer’s finals over the coming weeks, they will learn their opposition very quickly.

The World Cup draw takes place on 5 December at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.

What is Ask Me Anything?

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.

Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.

More questions answered…

Source link

LONDON — Thomas Tuchel justified Jude Bellingham‘s omission from this England squad in part by claiming a need to identify an alternative should injury strike the Real Madrid star in the future.

Thursday’s authoritative 3-0 victory over Wales at Wembley was further evidence that he might have found not just another option but a genuine competitor for Bellingham’s No. 10 spot.

Morgan Rogers impressed in last month’s 5-0 win over Serbia to the extent that he was entrusted to continue the job. It took him, and England, just three minutes to pick up where they left off in Belgrade, smartly converting Marc Guéhi‘s cutback to open the scoring.

– When can England qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
– Why has Bellingham, officially England’s best player, been dropped?
– 2026 World Cup: Who has qualified, and how the rest can make it

Rogers was denied an assist eight minutes later by the faintest touch from Guéhi on his cross, which Ollie Watkins converted. Later, Bukayo Saka curled in a sublime effort in the 20th minute.

For a manager who had tasked this group of players with the responsibility of proving themselves capable without the creative talents of Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, Tuchel was understandably delighted with the collective response.

It is the fastest England has scored three goals in a match since November 1987. And all without their all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane, responsible for 74 out of the 128 international goals across all 24 players called up this time.

“I did not feel any interruption in our flow, the workload and the way we pressed,” said Tuchel.

“The team is pushing itself and they are buying into the idea. They love the idea of going after opponents. At the moment it is very intense, very demanding but very effective.

“They do it at a high, high level. I am very delighted with the last two matches. We are absolutely on the right way. At the side, it feels like we show very good behavior like a club team. This is what we want to do, the feeling we want to create. The competition is on. The guys who play want to keep the shirt.”

There was a somewhat inevitable dip as the second half wore on, with the contest long since over, but Rogers was once again continuing to be crucial for England. Willing to drop in and help the press while dynamic enough to aid transitions or probe for openings, Rogers is a compelling choice.

“Morgan does excellent, like the whole team,” said Tuchel. “He is very humble, very physical, he has the ability to score and assist. He had a fantastic season and a well-deserved vote for the best young player of last season in the Premier League.

“That’s what he shows. We trust this team. Why not trust this team, who had such a good last camp? They showed again today that one-and-a-half training sessions are enough to adapt and be ready.”

Rogers celebrated his goal with the “Cold Palmer” celebration, an inadvertent reminder of another rival in that No. 10 position.

Morgan Rogers uses Cole Palmer’s celebration, but will he eventually take his starting role for England? (Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Cole Palmer is absent due to a groin problem and has conceded that Rogers first came up with the celebration Palmer has trademarked in the public consciousness when the pair played together in Manchester City’s academy.

The Chelsea playmaker will have watched somewhere as Rogers scored his first England goal, on a night where Rogers may have moved ahead of Palmer in the pecking order on the pitch too.

Of course, Bellingham’s talent is such that his return to full fitness and anything like his regular level for Real Madrid will ensure he not only earns a recall next month but probably a starting berth.

But Tuchel has pointedly referred to the excellent team spirit in camp and a benchmark of performance being set, which was emphatically underlined here to the extent that the onus is on Bellingham to respond over the next few weeks.

Tuchel made four changes to the team that beat Serbia and all of them were enforced — Reece James, Tino Livramento, Kane and Noni Madueke are injured — but the intensity and purpose in England’s play remained.

The combination overwhelmed Wales, and it could have been much worse. Watkins almost inconceivably missed from a yard out and Tuchel was right to suggest England could have been 5-0 up by halftime.

Wales improved in the second half to the extent Jordan Pickford was forced into two good saves, the first from David Brooks with his feet and the second flying to his left to repel Chris Mepham‘s header.

But they were thoroughly second best, often penned in as England pushed so far forward that their last line of defense was routinely only 40 yards or so from Wales’ goal.

Like Rogers, Elliot Anderson is excelling under Tuchel. Playing as a No. 6, he ended with 74 out of 79 completed passes and 92 touches in total, a figure only surpassed by England’s center backs Guéhi and John Stones, despite Anderson being substituted on 69 minutes. The 22-year-old anchored England’s European Championship success at Under-21 level this summer, and he continues to advance his case as a solution to England’s longstanding problem in the number six position.

All of ESPN. All in one place.

Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now

Of course, it remains to be seen whether he can dictate the tempo as effectively against elite — or even more expansive — opposition than Wales, but he is rapidly adding to the body of evidence that suggests he deserves the right to try.

These Wembley occasions can often be a little subdued and Tuchel was not shy in pointing out what he believed was a disparity between England’s performance and the noise levels inside the stadium.

“The stadium was silent. We didn’t get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win,” he said.

“What more can you give in 20 minutes? We didn’t let them escape. If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it’s sad because the team deserved more support today.

“I’m 100% sure that we have fantastic support at the tournament. We will have top support in Latvia [on Tuesday]. We had excellent support in Serbia. But today we were 3-0, after 23 minutes, we had ball-win after ball-win after ball-win, and I felt like ‘why is the roof still on the stadium? What’s going [on]?’

“That’s just it, it is nothing big. It could also have helped us in the second half to regain energy and to regain rhythm. It was not like this today. No problem. We will do everything again to be infectious. There is no problem. Like I said, I really mean it. I’m sure we will get everyone going. It is on us. But today I was a little underwhelmed.”

Tuchel will hope the England fans respond. Those players currently on the periphery may need to do the same.

Source link

England are playing more directly whilst empowering their exciting wingers to showcase their quality, but Tuchel isn’t forgetting to use…

With the 2026 World Cup final less than 11 months away, the starting pistol really has been sounded on Thomas…