Manager Thomas Tuchel predicts England’s star players will be “angry” if they are not selected in the starting XI for the World Cup, provided they continue to contribute to the team. Tuchel insists that winning teams are always united and united, as evidenced by the enthusiastic support of their colleagues, even those who were on the bench.
The Three Lions manager revealed that Jude Bellingham, who was left out of the starting XI for the game against Serbia at Wembley, was “absolutely fine” and said all the second-half changes made a big contribution. Tuchel said: “You can be angry at the manager, you can be angry at the situation, but if you look at the countries that won and the clubs that won the Champions League, the benches are standing up.
“For the last eight to 10 minutes, there wasn’t anybody sitting there thinking, ‘I should be on the field, I should be on the field, why am I not there?’ They’re just there.
“I experienced it once in a great game against Chelsea, it was non-stop and everyone was pushing and fighting from the bench even if they weren’t selected and we were ready.
“This ultimately makes the difference and I strongly, strongly believe that we should arrive with a team like that. Even if they are disappointed, that is completely normal.”
“They can never be happy and they don’t need to be. Nobody is used to sitting on the bench. This is the nature of a strong national team.”
Bellingham has already secured a spot in the United States and could start from the first whistle in England’s final World Cup qualifying match against Albania on Sunday. The Real Madrid ace faces stiff competition from close friend Morgan Rodgers to win back his place in the England squad, and Tuchel admitted Bellingham has the advantage of the situation.
Bellingham, who was left out of the final two teams, is now patiently waiting for his chance.
“It was no problem at all. I explained it to him before the team meeting. As soon as he came on, he played good, good and full of quality up front, with all the strength and the right energy,” Tuchel said.
“We’ve had three great performances with Morgan, so one of the reasons was to keep him in this position.
“However, we knew that Serbia would struggle with possession, so once we had clear information, we thought it would be better for Jude to play in the second half, so that was the decision we made.”
