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Thomas Tuchel has explained why he chose to leave Jude Bellingham out of the England squad for this month's international fixtures. The midfielder was widely expected to be named in the group after recovering from the injury which kept him out of the last squad. However, he was omitted from the list of players that was announced on Friday morning.
It came just days after Bellingham was voted by supporters as England's player of the year for the 2024/25 season. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were also left out of the squad, with Tuchel largely picking the same group as he did last month. Quizzed on his decision to omit Bellingham, he revealed the midfielder was eager to be called up but was overlooked because he 'lacks rhythm'.
"First of all, Jude is a very special player," said Tuchel. "For special players, there can always be special rules. For this camp, we decided to invite the same team. That applies to Jude, he deserves to always be in camp.
"The situation is he has not gathered full rhythm. He hasn't finished one full match and has only started one match. When he gets back to full strength, there is an extra layer to the decision.
"He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call but he just lacks rhythm. We stayed with our decision. It is a decision for this camp.
"Jack [Grealish] is in a very good moment. Phil [Foden] is in a very good moment. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Curtis Jones gets his minutes at Liverpool, Trevoh Chalobah plays.
"Cole Palmer is injured, a very special character and player who decides matches and can be a special player for us. This will always be like this. In any nomination, we will have these cases that can be endlessly discussed and decided in any way."
Asked if there were any problems between himself and Bellingham, the England boss replied: "Not an awkward conversation. It's straightforward, explain your reasons and that is that.
"It is not awkward and it is necessary, it is part of the job. They are not the nicest ones, it's always nicer to give good news, but it has to be done. The players have to accept it.
"Do I believe we're a stronger team with Jude? Yes. Is he one of the best players in the world in midfield? Yes, but what are we doing if a player like Jude is injured before the World Cup? Do we not travel?
"This is a team sport. We have to find solutions if players are injured, like now Cole Palmer. We found solutions in the last camp.
"This is more about the last camp and what we started to build than the dependency on individual players. It can never be the solution to depend on one player in football."