Real Madrid star missed games against Wales and Latvia
Head coach says absentees are all ‘eager to come back’
Thomas Tuchel will reach out to Jude Bellingham and the other players he excluded from his latest England squad before he makes his next selection in November.
The head coach’s decision to overlook Bellingham for the Wembley friendly against Wales last Thursday and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia in Riga on Tuesday has dominated the discourse. Tuchel wanted to show faith in the squad that won against Andorra and Serbia in September and it meant no room for those who missed out on the initial selection for fitness reasons. If Bellingham was the highest-profile absentee against Wales and Latvia, then Phil Foden was not far behind. Adam Wharton was also left out.
Tuchel’s team defeated Wales 3-0 before winning 5-0 against Latvia to secure qualification for the finals next summer with a blemish-free record: six wins out of six with six clean sheets. He is keen to maintain the momentum in the final qualifiers against Serbia at Wembley and Albania in Tirana and will lean once more towards continuity; faith in those who have delivered across two impressive camps.
