Soccer-Tuchel defends decision to leave Bellingham out of England squad

LONDON (Reuters) -Midfielder Jude Bellingham's lack of rhythm was the reason he was omitted from the England squad for this month's friendly at home to Wales and World Cup qualifier away to Latvia, national team manager Thomas Tuchel said on Friday.

Tuchel has stuck rigidly to the squad from last month's Group K qualifying victories against Andorra and Serbia, with Phil Foden and Jack Grealish once again overlooked.

Bellingham, 22, did not earn a call-up despite returning to action for Real Madrid, having been sidelined since having surgery in July to address a long-standing left shoulder issue.

Asked why the England team's Player of the Year voted for by fans in 2024-25 had been left out, German Tuchel said the midfielder lacked game time.

"I understand your focus on Jude, of course, he's a very special player. And for special players, there can always be special rules. But for this camp, we decided that we stick with our straightforward decision to invite the same team," he said.

"I think there's an extra layer on top of it, the situation that he has not gathered full rhythm yet at Real Madrid. He is back in the team but hasn't finished one full match until now.

"He has only started one match."

Tuchel said he had spoken to Bellingham on the phone and that the 22-year-old wanted to be selected.

Pressed further, Tuchel was asked if there was any problem between himself and Bellingham after the German coach had to apologise for calling the midfielder's on-field behaviour 'repulsive' after a friendly defeat by Senegal in June.

"No. There is also no problem between me and Phil (Foden) and there's no problem between me and Jack (Grealish) ... very special players. Phil is back to influencing games for Manchester City, and Jack is a very close version of himself."

"Do I believe we are a stronger team with Jude, yes. Is he one of the best players in midfield in the world? Yes," added Tuchel.

"This is a team sport. We have to find solutions. I think we have found solutions in the last camp. We can have injuries of hugely influential players. It can never be the solution to depend on one player."

Foden has returned to form for City with two goals and two assists at the start of the season, while Grealish won a Player of the Month award in the Premier League, bagging four assists for Everton since joining on loan from Manchester City.

Tuchel said both players needed to "keep on pushing" to force their way back into his squad.

"This was a decision for this camp," he said. "Like I said the (last) camp was the best in terms of team spirit, in terms of teamwork. That was the best camp so far.

"So we decided to invite the same group of players to make more stable what we built up."

While Bellingham's lack of game time meant he was left out, Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka returns to the fold despite also having a disrupted season due to a hamstring injury.

Saka is the only change to the squad Tuchel used in the last international window when England won 5-0 away to supposed chief Group K rivals Serbia -- his best result since taking charge.

"The result was an excellent result and even more important, it was well deserved from our performance," Tuchel said.

"So we decided very quickly that we want to reward everyone and bring the same group back into camp."

Victory in Latvia on October 14 combined with a draw in the match between Serbia and Albania would guarantee England qualify for the World Cup as group winners.

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, James Trafford

Defenders: Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, John Stones

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins

(Reporting by Martyn Herman in London and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ken Ferris)