Jude Bellingham's Fight for a Starting Spot Under Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel is not in the business of guarantees. Not even for Jude Bellingham.
The England manager, preparing for his first World Cup in charge, made it clear that the Real Madrid midfielder is fighting for his place just like everyone else in a squad stacked with options.
“He has,” Tuchel replied bluntly when asked if Bellingham has a battle on his hands to start. “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 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”
It was both a reassurance and a warning. Bellingham is central to Tuchel’s thinking – but not untouchable.
From Euro ever-present to rotation piece
Only a year ago, Bellingham was the heartbeat of England’s Euro 2024 run, missing just 29 minutes across seven matches and carrying Gareth Southgate’s side through long stretches of the tournament.
Under Tuchel, the landscape looks very different.
Since the German took over in January 2025, Bellingham has started only four matches, with three further appearances from the bench. Instead, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers has become the symbol of the new era: 12 appearances in Tuchel’s 13 games and the only player to feature in all eight World Cup qualifiers.
Selection hasn’t been Bellingham’s only problem. A shoulder injury ruled him out of two qualifiers last September. Tuchel then left him out entirely for the October camp, including a qualifier against Latvia. He returned in November, only for a hamstring issue to keep him out of the March friendlies.
For a player who had seemed undroppable, the interruptions and omissions have been jarring.
A strained relationship under the spotlight
The football has not been the only talking point. The relationship between Tuchel and Bellingham has simmered in public for months.
During last June’s defeat to Senegal, Tuchel described Bellingham’s on-field behaviour as “repulsive” – a stinging word that drew instant headlines and scrutiny. He later apologised, but the remark lingered as a symbol of tension between England’s star midfielder and his demanding new manager.
The flashpoints didn’t stop there. In November, after Bellingham reacted angrily to being substituted in a qualifier against Albania, Tuchel said he would “review” the player’s behaviour. For a 22-year-old already a global figure at Real Madrid, it was another reminder that England’s dressing room now runs on Tuchel’s terms.
Yet the tone around Bellingham has shifted in recent days.
A “sweet spot” in Tampa
In Tampa on Saturday, Bellingham came off the bench at half-time in England’s 1-0 World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand and left a very different impression. He took the captain’s armband, drove the team forward and, crucially, looked like himself again.
“You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite,” Tuchel said. “This is his key characteristic, but you can see that he comes from an injury and is full of energy and happy to be back on the pitch.”
Tuchel acknowledged the cost of Bellingham’s recent lay-off, which arrived at the sharp end of Real Madrid’s season.
“He had his break, unfortunately, in a decisive part of the season, the Champions League season and campaign for the championship in Spain, so this was very unfortunate for Real Madrid and for him personally. But you can see now that he is actually in a sweet spot. He comes back, he's fresh, he wants to play and he's in top shape.”
The words were striking. For the first time in months, Tuchel sounded not like a sceptic testing a young star, but like a coach sensing a weapon returning to full power.
Fight for a place, fight for a role
Still, the message remains: no automatic places. Not even for a player who has become a face of English football.
Tuchel’s insistence that he has “14 or 15 proper starters” underlines how fluid his team sheet could be once the World Cup begins. Bellingham sits inside that group, but so do others who have thrived under the new regime, with Rogers the clearest example of a player whose stock has soared.
For Bellingham, the challenge is layered. He must prove his fitness after a disrupted club season, channel his competitive edge in a way Tuchel can trust, and show that his influence for England can match his dominance in Madrid.
The armband in Tampa hinted at a thaw and at trust rebuilding. The performance suggested the rhythm is returning.
Now comes the real question: in a World Cup defined by Tuchel’s ruthless meritocracy, can Jude Bellingham turn “one of 14 or 15” back into the undisputed centrepiece of England’s midfield?
