England manager Thomas Tuchel has warned Jude Bellingham that he faces a tough battle to secure a starting spot in the team for the upcoming World Cup, citing intense competition within a squad he describes as having "14 or 15 potential starters."
Since taking over from Gareth Southgate in January 2025, Tuchel has handed the Real Madrid midfielder only four starts and three substitute appearances. In contrast, Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers has featured in 12 of Tuchel's 13 matches and was the only player to appear in all eight World Cup qualifiers.
When asked directly whether Bellingham is fighting for his place, Tuchel replied: "Yes, he has. He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them."
Bellingham, who started all seven of England's Euro 2024 matches, has seen his role diminish under Tuchel. He missed two qualifiers in September due to a shoulder injury and was left out of October's camp, including a qualifier against Latvia. A persistent hamstring problem also sidelined him for March friendlies.
Tensions between Bellingham and Tuchel have been well documented. Tuchel publicly criticized the player's behavior during a loss to Senegal last June, calling it "repulsive" — a remark he later apologized for. In November, Tuchel said he would "review" Bellingham's conduct after the midfielder's reaction to being substituted against Albania.
However, Tuchel praised Bellingham's performance in Saturday's 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand in Tampa, noting he has hit a "sweet spot" ahead of the tournament. Bellingham captained the side after coming on at halftime.
"You can see Jude has for sure the decisiveness and bite," Tuchel said. "This is his key characteristic, but you can see that he comes from an injury and is full of energy and happy to be back on the pitch."
The 22-year-old's path to the starting eleven remains uncertain, with Tuchel emphasizing that no player's role is fixed.
"He had his break, unfortunately, in a decisive moment, but now he's back and competing," Tuchel added.