The role of the two Englishman at Real Madrid in Thomas Tuchel's squad has been one of the major talking points ahead of this World Cup. Trent Alexander-Arnold was left out of Tuchel's squad all together, making his role crystal clear, but plenty of uncertainty remains about Jude Bellingham's importance. So, is the 22 year old expected to start against Croatia at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday?
Is Jude Bellingham expected to play for England tonight?
It is not yet clear whether or not Bellingham will be in England's starting XI in Arlington, Texas. Throughout qualification last year, Tuchel had favoured Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, with Bellingham notably only a substitute when Serbia visited Wembley last November.
However, the Real Madrid Galáctico was introduced at half time against New Zealand in a pre-tournament friendly in Tampa earlier this month. Four days later, Bellingham started the victory over Costa Rica in Orlando, lasting 71 minutes before being replaced. This was the biggest indicator that Tuchel is going to start him against Croatia, but that is far from guaranteed.
England's number 10 depth chart at the World Cup
Tuchel has ended up with an array of number ten options at his disposal, which led to some controversial omissions when the squad was announced last month. Two summers ago, at the European Championships, Gareth Southgate attempted to cram in all the best players, even if they did not fit together, a trap Tuchel is desperate to avoid falling into.
Thus, none of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden nor Morgan Gibbs-White were included in the squad, but there is still plenty of talent over in North America.
Players | Club | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 48 | 6 |
Morgan Rogers | Aston Villa | 15 | 1 |
Eberechi Eze | Arsenal | 17 | 3 |
There are really three players vying for the starting attacking midfielder spot. As already mentioned, it is likely between Bellingham and Rogers for that position, albeit Premier League champion Eberechi Eze, who scored three times during qualifying, himself is not a bad option to have.
How Jude Bellingham has performed for England recently
As alluded to, Bellingham's recent international career has been stop-start. He played almost every minute of all seven games during Euro 2024, scoring the only goal against Serbia, as well as that unforgettable bicycle-kick, which was a 95th minute equaliser to save his team against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen in the round of 16.
Since that summer in Germany, his sole England goal came during a Nations League defeat at the hands of Greece at Wembley. Prior to the friendly against Costa Rica a week ago, Bellingham had started just one of the Three Lions' last ten matches, this coming against Albania at Arena Kombëtare in November, not featuring in five of these games at all. Thus, he will need to rediscover his best form this summer to keep his place in the starting lineup, assuming he does get the nod in Texas.
England team news
The majority of Tuchel's starting lineup appears settled. He is likely to deploy a very similar XI to that deployed against Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium in Florida a week ago. The only positions up for the grabs are the trio behind Harry Kane.
Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke started that afternoon on the wings in Orlando, but Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka could come in. Meantime, as already documented, it is hard to know if he'll go for Rogers or Bellingham centrally. The team news reveal at around 1:45 (local time in Dallas) on Wednesday will be fascinating.
England predicted lineup vs Croatia
- Jordan Pickford.
- Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones & Nico O'Reilly.
- Elliot Anderson & Declan Rice.
- Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Anthony Gordon.
- Harry Kane.
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