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

Press Caption: The England Coach discussing Jude Bellingham

England's Head Coach Thomas Tuchel asserted that he holds "no problem" with Phil Foden following the trio were left out the Three Lions team for forthcoming matches against Latvia and Wales.

The midfielder did not earn a recall even after returning from a shoulder issue, while Foden and Grealish also miss out although displaying a return to form with their respective clubs.

Tuchel revealed that Bellingham wanted to be included of the squad, having spoken with him on the phone.

"Bellingham is a special player, and for special players there can always be special rules," the coach said about the Real Madrid star, who has only started once since coming back to fitness.

"But we decided to stick with the straightforward choice of calling up the same group.

"Bellingham always deserves to be here. There is also the situation that he has not quite regained his full rhythm yet at Real Madrid - he has not finished a full game.

"The player wanted to be called up. We had a phone call."

The England boss made an effort to emphasize his positive relationship with Bellingham after Tuchel said sorry to him previously for describing his on-pitch behavior as "disgusting" in a televised interview.

Tuchel stated that he uttered those terms "without meaning to" and promised to be more cautious going forward.

When asked if he had any issue with the player, he said: "No. There is also no problem with Phil Foden or Jack Grealish.

"Foden is returning to impacting and shaping games for Manchester City. Grealish is almost to being back to the best version of himself.

"There is no personal issue."

Bukayo Saka taking the place of the injured Madueke is the sole alteration to the previous team, with Loftus-Cheek and Jarell Quansah retaining their places after joining as last-minute call-ups previously due to injury.

The Three Lions play the Welsh team in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before a qualifying match in the Latvian capital on October 14.

If the team triumph in the away fixture, they will require a up to two more points from their remaining two qualifiers - against Serbia and Albania in next month - to earn a spot in next summer's World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Impressive Display Under Tuchel

England delivered their finest performance significantly under the manager's guidance when they beat the Serbian team five-nil away in the Serbian capital last time out.

Tuchel says that performance made it an straightforward choice to stick with largely the same squad, though "there exist no certainties" for every squad member regarding selection.

"The last camp was just three and a half weeks ago and the cohesion and spirit was on the highest level. That is the reason we decided to invite the same group to this camp," he said.

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

"We have players who deserve to be here. Cole Palmer is unfit and is a special player. It will consistently remain the case.

"Is our team a better team with Bellingham? Absolutely. But I told you before, what do we do if he is unavailable before the tournament? Do we simply give up?"

The Manager's Media Briefing Draws Attention

The England manager again gave a headline-grabbing news conference.

Tuchel, a master of handling his relationship with the press, began with an initial remarks to explain his thinking for his decisions.

The midfielder is fit and available and wanted to join to the squad, but Tuchel explained he did not want to change the team significantly after a impressive five-goal win over their opponents - where the manager said team spirit was extremely strong.

However with Tuchel not including the star, and his frequent remarks about togetherness, it is difficult to avoid connect the two - even though he said repeatedly how he is "exceptional" and that there is "no problem" between Tuchel and one of the national team's key talents.

Tuchel has consistently made it clear that he wanted to make the England squad feel like a club side and, by keeping the same squad after a big victory, he has done that. But the inquiries will arise once more in the following session if England perform strongly in these next two matches.

Mary West
Mary West

Tech writer and digital strategist passionate about emerging technologies and their impact on society.