Jude Bellingham's absence from the England team: Coach Tuchel's calculations?

Last Wednesday, Jude Bellingham was named the best player of the England team for the 2024-2025 season. However, less than 48 hours later, he was unexpectedly removed from the call-up list.

Coach Thomas Tuchel explained this decision by saying that Bellingham did not have much playing time for Real Madrid after shoulder surgery in the summer. The 22-year-old has only started one of his four appearances this season and has yet to play 90 minutes. However, if we look deeper, the reason may not stop at physical problems.

Tuchel has long emphasized the importance of having time to work with his players - something he admitted he lacked before the 2018 World Cup. He considers regularly focusing on key players as a key factor to build stability for the team.

The German captain also assessed the September training session as the best since he took charge, saying that the 5-0 victory over Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers in Belgrade was the direct result of 9 days of focused and effective training.

Tuchel kept most of the squad he had gathered in September when announcing the list for the October call-up. There were only a few minor changes when Noni Madueke (injured) was replaced by Bukayo Saka - who had not played a full 90 minutes for Arsenal since the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, Jarell Quansah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were retained after being called up as additional players in the previous meeting.

"Team spirit is the final key factor. We want to reach the final round, but first of all, we have to qualify. We are building something special, and I really believe that fans can feel that spirit - a team that is fighting, running for each other, and giving its all.

We showed that against Serbia, and now the task is to maintain it. Therefore, we do not want to risk too much change. This is a clear and direct decision to continue to trust the current group of players" - Tuchel said at the press conference last week.

However, this " frank decision" includes the removal of Bellingham, who has just been named the best player of the England team. This has led to the question, is there anything else going on behind the scenes?

England will play a friendly match with Wales at Wembley on 10 October, before visiting Ukraine on 15 October in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

These two matches are considered an opportunity for Tuchel to continue experimenting with the squad, after he began his term with a series of bold changes in personnel selection and tactics.