Jude Bellingham’s omission from the England squad marks the first time in four years that the Real Madrid star has missed out on a call-up when fit and available.
Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions squad is the same as it was last month bar Bukayo Saka and Jarrell Quansah getting the nod in place of injured duo Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento.
That means there is no place for Bellingham, who missed last month’s victories over Andorra and Serbia with a shoulder injury – and despite the midfielder having returned to action for Real in the interim, there is sense in Tuchel opting to keep his star player out of the fold this month.
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Thomas Tuchel’s Jude Bellingham call makes sense from multiple angles
Jude Bellingham has been an England regular since he was a teenager (Image credit: MANAURE QUINTERO/AFP via Getty Images)
The FA’s press release accompanying the squad chose to put a positive spin on Tuchel’s selection as being representative of the same group of players performing so well in that 5-0 domination of Serbia in September’s break.
While there’s some truth in that, it’s not the entire story; September’s late replacement call-up Ruben Loftus-Cheek has retained his place in the squad, for instance, despite having played no part in either game.
Jude Bellingham only returned for Real Madrid on September 20 (Image credit: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
We would like to see Tuchel try and claim with a straight face that the Milan midfielder, whose last cap came in 2018, was genuinely ahead of Bellingham in his thoughts for next summer’s World Cup.
Bellingham absence naturally led to tabloid-led questions as to whether there is a ‘problem’ between Tuchel and the midfielder, and an implication that the Real Madrid star may now fall into the same boat as Phil Foden and Jack Grealish – two other attacking talents who have found themselves out of favour in recent months.
Those asking the questions will already have known the answer, realistically; they will also have known that it is so prosaic as to be un-headline worthy.
The simple truth is that Bellingham returned from that injury less than a fortnight ago and has played just 100 minutes of competitive football across four appearances this season – only one of which was as a starter.
Xabi Alonso is clearly managing Bellingham’s minutes just at the moment, so it is only sensible that Tuchel should do the same – especially given the nature of the games England have coming up.
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Jude Bellingham is a luxury Thomas Tuchel doesn’t need to rush back (Image credit: Getty Images)
A friendly against Wales and a qualifying match against Latvia do not exactly scream of an urgent need to rush a player back from injury.
Much as there will be some pride on the line against immediate neighbours, the game ultimately does not matter bar the minor implications for England’s place in the FIFA World Rankings.
Respectfully, Tuchel also has good reason to feel that the likes of Saka, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze and Harry Kane should be able to provide enough firepower to get past a Latvia side that was seen off 3-0 last time they met back in March.
Two of England’s goals in that victory came without Bellingham on the pitch: he was substituted off just before Kane got England’s second, with Eze going on to make it three.
Jude Bellingham gestures to the England fans after his goal against Slovakia at Euro 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Player welfare has been an increasingly vocal concern among players and managers in recent years, yet few managers are ever willing to put their money where their mouth is and give players extra time off.
Tuchel’s decision achieves that and comes with a couple of other fringe benefits. For one: Bellingham has nothing to prove about his ability, either in general or when it comes to coming up with the goods for England.
As such, what would Tuchel actually stand to learn from having a look at a not-quite-fully-fit Bellingham? Far less than he is going to learn about whether players like Rogers and Loftus-Cheek are worth taking to a World Cup, we would wager.
Second, it helps Tuchel send a message to his squad – less that nobody is untouchable (that was already clear from his dropping Foden), but that if you perform well for the national team and get results, you have a much better chance of being retained next time around.
That’s just as it should be, surely?
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