Thomas Tuchel claims Jude Bellingham has fight on his hands to nail down England starting spot at 2026 World Cup
Updated 08/06/2026 at 10:08 GMT+1
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England boss Thomas Tuchel has an abundance of attacking players at his disposal for the 2026 World Cup, with the German saying Jude Bellingham has a fight on his hands to secure a place in the starting XI.
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The Three Lions kick off their North American journey when they face Croatia next week, before meetings with Ghana and Panama to round off the group stages, as England look to land international silverware for the first time since 1966.
And Tuchel's side are one of the pre-tournament favourites to go the distance given the German's experience in tournament football and the raft of attacking talent to call on.
Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Jarrod Bowen were overlooked for England's World Cup squad, with Bellingham and Morgan Rogers the two players battling to play the No. 10 role in Tuchel's favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.
Nominally, the Real Madrid star would be considered first choice for the position, but he faces stiff competition from the Aston Villa man for a place in the starting XI.
Rogers was one of only three players, along with captain Harry Kane and vice-captain Declan Rice, to feature in all eight World Cup qualifying matches.
Bellingham, by comparison, only made four appearances due to injury as England breezed to the summer showpiece event.
Conversely, the 22-year-old captained England for the second half of Saturday's 1-0 pre-tournament friendly win over New Zealand.
And speaking ahead of Wednesday's game against Costa Rica, Tuchel was asked whether Bellingham has a fight on his hands to nail down his spot in the side, to which he replied: "Yes, he has.
"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."
'He looks good'
Tuchel, though, said that he has been impressed with what he has seen of Bellingham, continuing: "He [Jude] looks good. He looks good in training.
"I think he is at the moment in a sweet spot because he has had his break, and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch and after injury - this is normal.
"And he is so happy to be back on the pitch. You take everything in."
The England boss, however, refused to reveal whether Bellingham was now part of the leadership group, having donned the armband against New Zealand.
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"We have 14 or 15 potential starters and then there is a special group, and then there are guys who finish matches for us and get the energy right," Tuchel added.
The World Cup kicks off on June 11 and runs through until July 19.
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