Thomas Tuchel left some high-profile names on the sidelines when he named his England squad to face Wales and Latvia this month.
Phil Foden and Jack Grealish have returned to top form with Manchester City and Everton, respectively, but Tuchel opted not to call them up, instead sticking predominantly with the group that overcame Andorra and Serbia in September.
Bukayo Saka is back after regaining fitness with Arsenal, but Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is absent.
It is not the first time Tuchel has, perhaps inadvertently, created negative headlines around himself and Bellingham. So why has the man named England’s Player of the Season for 2024/25 been left out in the cold?
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Is Jude Bellingham injured?
Bellingham underwent surgery after the FIFA Club World Cup and missed the opening weeks of the season for Real Madrid, but he is back in action now and is no longer injured.
The 22-year-old has made four appearances for Madrid in 2025/26, three from the bench. He started last weekend’s defeat to Atlético Madrid in El Derbi and was in training on Friday when Tuchel confirmed his omission.
Despite being back on the pitch, Tuchel said that Bellingham had “not quite gathered his full rhythm again.” He added that Bellingham wanted to be called up, but Tuchel explained his omission over a phone conversation.
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Why didn’t Tuchel pick Bellingham, Foden and Grealish?
Sensing the attention his big calls would attract, Tuchel began his Friday briefing by explaining that he wanted to reward the players who impressed with a 5-0 win in Serbia last time out by naming an unchanged squad.
“As you saw, we only made one change to the squad from the last camp,” Tuchel said. “The last camp was only three-and-a-half weeks ago. Teamwork and team spirit were at the highest level so far. That’s why we decided to invite the same group into this camp, to make more stable what we started to build in the last camp.
“Are there players out who deserve to be with us? Yes, for sure. Is there a way back into the team through performance? One hundred per cent, for sure. But at the moment, we think this is the best and most straightforward decision.”
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What did Thomas Tuchel say about Jude Bellingham?
The latest headlines create more unhelpful noise around Tuchel and the player many view as the man most likely to inspire a long-awaited World Cup triumph for England.
Following England’s 3-1 home friendly defeat to Senegal in June – a game where Bellingham came off the bench for the final 20 minutes, had a goal disallowed by VAR and cut a visibly frustrated figure.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Tuchel praised Bellingham’s “fire” but said his nother sometimes found the player’s on-field behaviour to be “repulsive”.
Tuchel later apologised for the remarks, saying he should have chosen his words more carefully. The German coach also noted he was speaking in his second language.
Jude Bellingham’s England record
Bellingham already has 44 England caps, having made his debut at 17.
He’s scored six goals for his country, with three of those coming in major tournament finals.
