Jamie Carragher is a big fan of the Real Madrid midfielder but believes it was Thomas Tuchel’s “strong management” that left Jude Bellingham out of his final squad.
Manager Thomas Tuchel admits that Jude Bellingham is now one of the hottest stars in world football, but he still seemed slightly taken aback by the controversy that heated up after the Real Madrid man was left out of England’s final squad.
Tuchel said Bellingham missed the final two games as he was still picking up pace in his return from shoulder surgery, and was back in the squad because he was faster and feeling better.
But if Tuchel wanted to send a message to all of England’s established players, he did it when he left out Bellingham, says Jamie Carragher.
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“I think Jude Bellingham, coming back to the England squad, feels he’s got something to prove. I think it’s been really good management, really strong management,” Carragher said at the launch of the new Sky Bet/British Heart Foundation initiative in the pioneering Every Minute Matters campaign*.
“Jude Bellingham is one of the best players in European and world football. England can’t go to the World Cup without Jude Bellingham, but I actually give the manager a lot of credit.
“And that could work out in the long run. Thomas Tuchel knows he doesn’t need Jude Bellingham to win in qualifying and he could also send a message to Jude Bellingham, England’s most famous player.”
“But it also sends a message to the rest of the England squad. If you can take Jude Bellingham out of the England squad, anyone can. Last time he also left out Phil Foden.”
Of course, Tuchel had to explain his comments after he said in a radio interview that his mother found some of Bellingham’s actions “disgusting”. But while Carragher believes the focus should shift away from the Tuchel-Bellingham relationship, he likes the German’s unafraid of upsetting people.
Carragher said: “That’s the way Thomas Tuchel works. He’s going to ruffle some feathers. He’s done that at every club he’s been at. I think that was to be expected. We all love managers who stand up to big players.”
“He’s trying to build problems for the team as a whole, not just specific star players. I’m all for that. The great thing about the England squad recently is that players like Elliott Anderson and Morgan Rodgers have shown that they can play at this level in the positions that Bellingham plays.”
England have already qualified for the World Cup finals, but they still have two Group K games remaining. Tuchel’s side will play Serbia at Wembley on Thursday before traveling to Tirana to face Albania on Sunday.
*Jamie has teamed up with Skybet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to launch a major new awareness campaign. This new initiative is part of the pioneering Every Minute Matters campaign, which has already inspired more than 350,000 people to start learning CPR since its launch in May 2024.
*Jamie says: “Anyone can learn these life-saving skills, which is why I encourage everyone involved in grassroots football to take 15 minutes to learn CPR and defibrillation using RevivR, the BHF’s fantastic free online tool.”
