Thomas Tuchel raised eyebrows when his latest England squad did not include fit-again Jude Bellingham as he tries to foster an environment of consistency in the Three Lions camp
Thomas Tuchel has left no-one in any doubt: This is his England. And if you don’t like it – then you will have to lump it.
It was a huge call to leave out Jude Bellingham. But this goes way beyond that. It is about Tuchel owning it, showing who is boss and trying to create a different environment.
And it is a massive gamble on Tuchel’s part because the reality is that England do not have many world-class players. And Bellingham is one of them.
This notion that England have a wealth of talent is becoming a bit outdated. They certainly did – but do they now? Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Harry Kane are arguably the only world-class players in the squad.
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The defence is looking older now. They had a brilliant back four of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
Stones is still an option and is still top class but he will be 32 by next summer’s World Cup while Walker does not even get a phone call these days to tell him he’s not in.
Cole Palmer is a top-quality player – but a long way from being an England regular let alone on the same level as the best of Spain and so on.
Elliot Anderson looks a good option to be England’s No.6. But he’s played two games. Anthony Gordon is good in the Premier League while Phil Foden has lost his place in the squad.
Morgan Rogers was man of the match in Serbia but it is hard to make a case that he is world class or that he should be picked ahead of Bellingham.
There is a certain irony here that Rogers is big pals with Bellingham and so respectful of his mate. And even Rogers would surely admit he is not having his best season for Aston Villa.
Surely Tuchel has made a mistake in leaving out Bellingham but the one argument you can make on that big call is that he is trying to create a club atmosphere within the England set-up.
Yes, we’ve heard all that before under Gareth Southgate and every manager who followed the days when the cliques of Liverpool and Manchester United divided the England dressing room.
They all talk a good game and say that is what they will create – but Tuchel, in fairness to him, has gone out on a limb to actually make it happen.
That is what he is banking on – that dressing room and team which won 5-0 in Serbia being together as a unit, as a group and that team spirit carrying them to the United States next summer.
England – even with Bellingham – are probably not among the two to three favourites to win it. Not with the likes of Spain or Argentina. Germany and France would not swap their players for England’s either.
But it is hard to make a case that England are anything other than the next tier down. Genuine contenders but not red-hot favourites.
To be fair, Tuchel has been at his best at a manager when he has been able to foster a team spirit within the group. He did it at Chelsea and led them to the Champions League.
No-one can doubt him as a coach but he was not able to build a dressing room togetherness at Paris Saint Germain and there were too many factions and politics even at Bayern Munich.
Tuchel dropped Neymar, had issues with Adrien Rabiot and fell out with Josh Kimmich at Bayern. These are big names and personalities. And yet he was not afraid to take them on. But if you go into battle, you have to win.
And leaving out Bellingham is a big call even if it lays down a wider message of who is in charge.
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