Tuchel Insists No Problem with Jude Bellingham, Foden, or Jack Grealish

Press Caption: Tuchel on Jude Bellingham

England's Head Coach Thomas Tuchel has declared that he holds "no problem" with Phil Foden after the trio were left out the England team for upcoming fixtures against Latvia and Wales.

Bellingham did not earn a recall despite returning from a shoulder injury, while the Manchester City and Everton players also miss out although displaying a return to form with their respective clubs.

Tuchel mentioned that the 22-year-old desired to be part of the selection, after a conversation with him via telephone.

"Bellingham is a special player, and for special players there can often be special rules," the coach remarked regarding the Real Madrid star, who has only started once since returning to fitness.

"But we decided to maintain the straightforward choice of inviting the same group.

"Bellingham always deserves to be here. There is also the situation that he has not fully regained his optimal form again at his club - he has not finished a full game.

"He expressed a desire to be selected. We conducted a telephone conversation."

The England boss made an effort to highlight his positive relationship with Bellingham following he said sorry to him earlier this year for describing his conduct during a match as "disgusting" in a televised interview.

The German stated that he uttered those terms "without meaning to" and would be more careful in future.

Inquired if he had a problem with Bellingham, Tuchel said: "None. There is also no problem with Phil Foden or Jack Grealish.

"Phil is back to impacting and deciding games for his club. Grealish is almost to being back to the best version of himself.

"There is no personal issue."

Bukayo Saka taking the place of the hurt Madueke is the sole alteration to last month's squad, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Quansah keeping their spots after being last-minute call-ups previously due to injury.

England play Wales in a non-competitive match at Wembley Stadium on this Thursday before a qualifying match in the Latvian capital on October 14.

If England triumph in Latvia, they will require a maximum of two more points from their remaining two qualifiers - against Albania and Serbia in next month - to earn a spot in the upcoming World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Impressive Display Under the Manager

England produced their best display significantly under Tuchel's leadership when they beat Serbia five-nil away in the Serbian capital last time out.

Tuchel stated that performance made it an easy decision to stick with largely the identical group, though "there are absolutely no guarantees" for any player regarding selection.

"Our previous gathering was only three and a half weeks ago and the teamwork and spirit was on the highest level. That is the reason we chose to call up the same group to this camp," he commented.

"Foden is in a very good moment. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Jones and Chalobah are getting minutes with their clubs.

"We have players who warrant to be here. Palmer is unfit and is a special player. It will always be like this.

"Is our team a better team with Jude? Yes. But I told you before, what do we do if he is injured before the World Cup? Do we just cancel?"

The Manager's Media Briefing Gets Noticed

The England manager once more delivered a box office press briefing.

He, a expert of managing his interactions with the media, started with an opening statement to set out his reasoning for his selections.

Bellingham is fit and available and wanted to come to the squad, but the coach has said he did not want to alter the squad significantly after a statement 5-0 victory over Serbia - where the boss noted team spirit was at an all-time high.

But with Tuchel not including Bellingham, and his repeated comments about togetherness, it is difficult to avoid connect the aspects - even though he said repeatedly how Bellingham is "special" and that there is "no issue" between Tuchel and one of England's star players.

Tuchel has always made it clear that he aimed to make the national team feel like a club team and, by retaining the identical selection after a big victory, he has done that. But the questions will come again in the next camp if the team perform strongly in these next two matches.

Ryan Freeman
Ryan Freeman

A seasoned career coach with over 10 years of experience in job market trends and professional development.