Thomas Tuchel has warned Jude Bellingham must earn his place in England’s starting line-up at the 2026 World Cup, despite the Real Madrid midfielder’s reputation as one of the team’s key players.
When asked if Bellingham faced competition for his spot, Tuchel said: “Yes. 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 like 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”
Bellingham is seemingly in a straight fight with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers for the number 10 spot in the England XI, and the latter is a favourite of Tuchel. Rogers was the only player to feature in all eight of England’s qualification matches for the World Cup, while Bellingham featured in just four of England’s qualifying matches, highlighting the competition for places.
The 22-year-old struggled to find his best form for Real Madrid during the 2025-26 campaign, only managing eight goals and five assists in 40 appearances in all competitions, marking his worst campaign with Los Blancos.
Bellingham captained the side for the first time during the second half as Tuchel rotated his squad in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over New Zealand in Tampa. The England manager praised Bellingham’s condition, saying: “I think he is in a sweet spot at the moment, because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch after injury.”
England will face Costa Rica in a friendly on Wednesday before opening their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17 in Dallas.