England manager Thomas Tuchel has warned Jude Bellingham and his other attacking midfielders that no one is safe when it comes to England’s World Cup squad selection for next summer.
Bellingham was recalled to the England squad for the current international break, but was left on the substitutes bench, with Morgan Rogers preferred to the Real Madrid man in the No 10 role.
Before the game, Tuchel had insisted that his side have a plethora of options in the position, and said before the clash with Serbia that he had a tough decision ahead of him.
Speaking to ITV, he said: ‘We have some options and maybe we have to take tough decision. First we need to come to the summer. We have matches to play and that’s where the focus is.’
Phil Foden was also among the substitutes, having too been recalled to the squad. He, though, has fierce competition too, Tuchel revealed.
‘At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play,’ he said prior to the game of Bellingham, Foden, and Harry Kane. ‘They can, but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed. Not for the structure that also comes with wingers who are like specialists in their positions.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has sent a word of warning to Jude Bellingham (pictured) and his other attacking midfielders
Tuchel also discussed the possibility of Phil Foden (right) playing in a striker role in his side
Tuchel has already revealed that he will be ruthless when it comes to his selection for the World Cup next summer
‘There is a lot of congruence, especially in the No 10 position, if you think about Phil can play there, you think about Jude, you think about Morgan Rogers, who played fantastic for us in this position. You have Cole Palmer, you have Morgan Gibbs-White, so there is a lot of players and there is the chance that we will not take everyone.’
Reaffirming his point before kick-off against Serbia, he said of Foden playing up front: ‘This is an option. I want him in the middle of the pitch and close to the opponents’ box.
‘He plays a deeper role for Manchester City this season which he does excellently. Maybe he will be a option for a number eight, but at the minute he is between the nine or 10.’
The Three Lions headed into Thursday’s clash already assured of qualification for next summer’s World Cup, though Tuchel has insisted he will not use the remaining matches for experimentation.
‘Do you feel I was experimenting in the last matches?’ he told reporters on Wednesday. ‘I didn’t feel that we were experimenting in the last two camps and we will not start in this camp.
‘We take it serious, these are World Cup qualifiers, at home. We want to build and keep on going.’
