England Manager Tuchel States No Issue with Bellingham, Phil Foden, or Jack Grealish

Media Caption: The England Coach discussing Jude Bellingham

Thomas Tuchel has declared that he has "no issue" with Jude Bellingham after the trio were left out the England squad for upcoming matches against Wales and Latvia.

The midfielder has not been recalled despite returning from a shoulder injury, whereas the Manchester City and Everton players also miss out although displaying improved form with their clubs.

The German manager mentioned that Bellingham wanted to be part of the selection, after a conversation with him on the phone.

"Bellingham is a special player, and for exceptional talents there can always be exceptions," the coach said about Bellingham, who's only started once since returning to fitness.

"However we decided to stick with the straightforward decision of inviting the identical squad.

"Jude always deserves to be here. There is also the situation that he has not fully found his full rhythm yet at his club - he has not finished a full match.

"He wanted to be selected. We had a telephone conversation."

The England boss made an effort to emphasize his good rapport with Bellingham following Tuchel apologized to him earlier this year for calling his on-pitch behavior as "repulsive" in a live interview.

Tuchel explained that he used the words "unintentionally" and would be more careful in future.

Inquired if he had a problem with the player, Tuchel responded: "None. There is no issue either with Foden or Grealish.

"Phil is back to impacting and deciding games for his club. Jack is almost to being back to the best version of himself.

"There is no personal problem."

Bukayo Saka replacing the hurt Madueke is the only change to last month's squad, with Loftus-Cheek and Jarell Quansah keeping their spots after being late additions previously due to fitness concerns.

England face the Welsh team in a friendly at Wembley on this Thursday before a qualifying match in the Latvian capital on 14 October.

If England triumph in Latvia, they will need a maximum of two more points from their final two matches - against Serbia and Albania in next month - to secure a spot in next summer's World Cup in North America.

Impressive Display Under Tuchel

The Three Lions delivered their best display significantly under Tuchel's leadership when they defeated Serbia five-nil on the road in Belgrade in their previous match.

Tuchel says that performance meant it an straightforward choice to keep mostly the identical group, though "there are absolutely no guarantees" for every squad member regarding being picked.

"The last camp was just three and a half weeks ago and the teamwork and morale was on the highest level. That is why we decided to call up the same group to this session," he commented.

"Foden is in a excellent run of form. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Jones and Chalobah are earning minutes with their clubs.

"There are players who warrant to be here. Cole Palmer is unfit and is a special player. It will consistently remain like this.

"Are we a stronger side with Jude? Yes. But I mentioned before, what do we do if Jude is unavailable before the World Cup? Do we just cancel?"

The Manager's Press Conference Gets Noticed

Thomas Tuchel once more gave a headline-grabbing news conference.

Tuchel, a master of handling his relationship with the press, began with an opening statement to set out his reasoning for his selections.

The midfielder is fit and available and expressed interest to join to the squad, but the coach has said he preferred not to alter the squad too much after a impressive five-goal win over Serbia - where the boss noted unity was at an all-time high.

However with Tuchel not including Bellingham, and his frequent comments about togetherness, it is hard not to connect the aspects - although Tuchel insisted multiple times how he is "exceptional" and that there is "no issue" between him and one of the national team's key talents.

Tuchel has always made it evident that he wanted to make the national team seem like a club side and, by keeping the identical selection after a statement win, he has done that. But the questions will arise once more in the following session if England perform strongly in these next two matches.

Meredith Quinn
Meredith Quinn

A passionate web developer and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in creating innovative digital solutions.