'We do miss Jude!' - Declan Rice hits back at Bellingham critics with defiant England message as Phil Foden & Cole Palmer also defended

Bellingham has sat out the last two international breaks. He missed the first of those, in September, after undergoing surgery to fix a long-standing shoulder injury. A return to competitive action with Real was made on September 20, with a further four appearances being taken in since then.

The 22-year-old is still working his way back to full match fitness and sharpness, making it easier for Tuchel to overlook him on this occasion. It is considered to be only a matter of time before he is absorbed into the fold once more, with Bellingham far too talented to be left on the outside looking in.

Rice admits as much, with the Arsenal star looking forward to seeing Bellingham slot into the England team alongside him. He also expects Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer, who is nursing a knock at present, and Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden, who has started to rediscover a lost spark, to be back on the international stage sooner rather than later.

Rice said after captaining England - with usual skipper Harry Kane another of those to be nursing a minor injury - to a 3-0 victory over Wales at Wembley Stadium: "I think every time you play for England, you want to grab the shirt, you want to grab your chance. But we do miss Jude, for sure. We miss Phil, we miss Cole, we miss loads of players for reasons that the manager’s obviously said.

"We are obviously an unreal team, and they’re in the team as well. Let’s not get away from that. What they’ve done in an England shirt is incredible. We’re looking forward to having them back next camp, hopefully. As a team, we want to keep integrating everyone as much as possible before the World Cup. I think that’s the most important thing, and we’ve done that in the past."

Tuchel has kept faith with many of those that impressed during the September break, leading to the likes of Foden and Everton loanee Jack Grealish missing out. He has stated that nobody will be picked on reputation alone, with every place in his plans having to be earned.

The German tactician said: "We are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else. That’s how it is in international football. But the thing you are playing [back to me] is not what I am saying. You are playing the game that says: ‘He [Tuchel] is saying the others who aren’t in the team, you cannot build a team with them’. It’s not like this. We built a team with the players who were available and they did so well so we go again with them. Nobody said we can’t do the same with them. Or even better, or maybe the same level, with the others.

"For this moment we stick with our choice and the radical statement is that we don’t collect the most talented players. We collect the guys who have the glue and cohesion to be the best team. Because we need to arrive as the best team. We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup because we haven’t won it for decades and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time. So we have to arrive as a team or we will have no chance."

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers was among those to catch the eye in Bellingham’s absence, as he operated in a No.10 role against Wales and opened his senior international goal account. Bukayo Saka, on his first England outing since June, also impressed heading into a meeting with Latvia on Tuesday that could see the Three Lions confirm their place at next summer’s World Cup finals.