Brits Abroad: Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham continue to light up La Liga while Jamie Vardy and Che Adams score in Serie A

All eyes will be on Thomas Tuchel this week when he names his latest England squad, with the fate of Jude Bellingham likely to dominate the headlines regardless of whether the Real Madrid midfielder is recalled or not. What cannot be debated, however, is that Bellingham is starting to look back to his best following the delay to the start of his season.

Bellingham looked a shadow of himself at times last season, but the way he has bounced back following long-awaited shoulder surgery over the summer suggests that injury was holding him back more than many people realised. Indeed, Bellingham is back dominating midfield battles for Los Blancos in La Liga as Xabi Alonso's side take an early grip on the title race.

Bellingham netted the third goal in Saturday's 4-0 win over Valencia, marking the third successive game in all competitions that he has found the net. And unlike his previous two tap-ins against Juventus and Barcelona, this was one that Bellingham created all by himself, cutting in from the left before skipping past a defender and hitting a rasping drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Watching that, it's madness to think that there are some who believe England would be better off without Bellingham. We'll find out this week which camp Tuchel falls into...

One man who will definitely be in the Three Lions' squad to face Serbia and Albania is Marcus Rashford, whose resurgence shows no signs of slowing down at Barcelona. The Manchester United loanee eased the Blaugrana's nerves when he put them 3-1 up against Elche on Sunday with an angled strike that kissed the crossbar on the way in.

Rashford has taken his goal tally to six in all competitions since his summer move, and combined with his seven assists, he has emerged as Barca's most reliable attacking outlet amid injury issues for Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal. The confidence Rashford is playing with harks back to his best days at Old Trafford, and in current form he should be assured of his place on the plane for the World Cup next summer.

"I try to give my best. I could have done better against Elche and I promise to improve, but I'm generally happy with my performance," Rashford said after being named MVP of the match by La Liga. "In my opinion, if I do things right on the pitch and with the team, I'll always be able to score and create goals. My goal is to connect with my team-mates and feel in sync with them, and that's exactly how I feel right now."

Like Rashford, Jamie Vardy has taken his first steps outside of England this season, and after needing some time to get up to full fitness after a summer without a club, the veteran striker is starting to make himself at home in Serie A. After opening his account last week, Vardy made it two goals in three games for Cremonese when he pulled one back against Juventus on Saturday.

Though the ex-Leicester City wasn't able to rescue a point for his side against the Bianconeri, the way he was able to shrug off a defender and produce a finish when presented with a one-on-one opportunity suggested that, despite now being 38, Vardy can still cut it at the highest level and is going to be nuisance for defenders around Italy.

While Vardy is one of a handful of Englishmen plying their trade in Serie A, the Italian top-flight has become more associated with Scotland in recent years, with Scott McTominay leading a strong contingent of players who form a regular part of Steve Clarke's squads. But while this was a quiet weekend for the league's reigning MVP as McTominay and Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw by Como, there was joy for one of his international team-mates.

Che Adams enjoyed a productive debut season at Torino in 2024-25 as the former Southampton forward scored 10 goals in all competitions. He would have hoped, then, to kick on this time around, but before this week's clash with Pisa he had netted just once in the current campaign. You wouldn't have known it from the way he fired home the equaliser for Marco Baroni's side on Sunday, as Adams brought the ball down in the box before lashing a shot past the helpless goalkeeper to earn his side a point after they had fallen two goals down early on to their newly-promoted opposition.

That strike saw Adams surpass legendary Scotsman Denis Law's tally of league goals for Torino, and he will be keen to now go on a run of scoring, starting with next week's derby against Juventus.

Twelve months ago, Angel Gomes was being spoken about as the potential answer to England's midfield problems. The then-Lille star had produced some eye-catching performances in the Nations League after being handed his international debut by interim boss Lee Carsley, and there was real hope that the former Manchester United academy star would be able to return on his undoubted potential.

That hope remains, but Gomes' career has stalled somewhat since last autumn. He made just two Ligue 1 starts between the November international break and the end of the season, and he was substituted at half-time on both occasions as he struggled to shake off a niggling calf injury. Gomes then left LOSC as a free agent in the summer, and rejected advances from Premier League clubs to remain in France and join Marseille.

Thus far, the 25-year-old is yet to find his best level under Roberto De Zerbi despite starting nine of OM's 11 league games, though there is hope that things are turning back in the right direction for Gomes after he scored the winner with a scuffed finish in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Auxerre. And while the goal itself wasn't one that will live long in the memory, that it capped a display that saw Gomes complete 95 percent of his passes suggests a return to the form that saw him capped by his country might not be far away.

Over in the United States, we're into the MLS playoffs following the conclusion of the regular season. And while all eyes are on Lionel Messi and Inter Miami as they aim to put last season's embarrassment behind them, they are again not having things their own way in part due to the goal-scoring of an English forward.

Saturday saw Miami lose 2-1 to Nashville SC in Game Two of their first-round match-up (the opening round of the playoffs is a 'best of three' format), with the opening goal scored by former Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest striker Sam Surridge from the penalty spot. Surridge has been making quite the name for himself in U.S. soccer circles, too, after a season in which he challenged Messi for top scorer status.

His spot-kick was Surridge's 31st goal in all competitions of 2025, and if the former England Under-21 international can repeat the feat when the two sides meet again next weekend then he could go down in MLS folklore as one of the men who kept Messi from turning his many goals and assists into more silverware.