How to handle Jude Bellingham, whether to recall Trent Alexander-Arnold and six England questions Thomas Tuchel still needs to answer ahead of the 2026 World Cup

Tuchel has learned that the England media agenda essentially revolves around Jude Bellingham, whether he plays or not. The Real Madrid midfielder's absence from the squad in October remained a big talking point even when the games began, and the question of whether he would be recalled dominated the build-up to the November camp.

Even after impressing in a starting role against Albania, Bellingham managed to dominate the headlines again despite not scoring. His reaction to being substituted was instantly pored over by the press even though it was from the worst reaction that has ever been seen. Bellingham was not exactly thrilled to be taken off before the end, but nor did he throw his toys out of the pram, and Tuchel was caught unawares when asked about the reaction, saying he would "have to review it". 

Despite appearing to not be bothered by Bellingham's reaction, Tuchel repeated his mantra that the team must come first by saying: "We're about standards, commitment and respect to each other. We'll not change our decision just because someone is waving their arms."

That could be interpreted as another criticism of Bellingham from Tuchel, who earlier this year revealed that his own mother found the Madrid man's behaviour to be "repulsive". It showed that Tuchel has still not learned how to properly handle Bellingham, and if he wants to have him in his squad then he needs to embrace Bellingham's ultra-competitive nature and resist giving the media more ammunition to use against him.

Kane scored his 77th and 78th goals for England against Albania, taking him past the total international goals scored by the great Pele. He found the net in six of the eight qualifiers, while he has scored eight more goals than any other player in Europe (Cristiano Ronaldo is his nearest challenger) across World Cup and European Championship qualifiers since 2019. Kane has become even more pivotal under Tuchel, scoring nine goals in nine games under the German coach, accounting for 34 percent of England's total strikes.

But it begs the question: what happens if Kane gets injured? England have grown to become so reliant on Kane that Gareth Southgate picked him in all seven matches at Euro 2024 despite him clearly lacking sharpness following a back injury. Trusting in Kane now makes perfect sense given he is in the best form of his career, but England need a contingency plan for the eventuality that he does become unavailable, especially as he is likely to be feeling the strain of his record-breaking season for Bayern Munich by the time the World Cup comes around. 

"I don't want to think of an England without Harry Kane," said former England defender Conor Coady on BBC Radio 5 Live, and he's not the only one. Tuchel didn't even bother to pick another centre-forward in his latest squad after Ollie Watkins was ruled out with injury, leaving Jarrod Bowen and Marcus Rashford as the only options in the event Kane wasn't available. They will, however, need a more proven option next summer.

John Stones has started England's last four games after recovering from injury, and as long as he can stay fit until next June, he looks nailed-on to be one of the starting centre-backs in North America. He gives England twin assets of a wealth of experience in defence as well as flair in midfield, but it is a toss-up over who should partner him at the heart of the defence.

Dan Burn was exposed at several points during the trip to Albania and he lacks senior tournament experience, and Marc Guehi seems the more reliable option given he was one of England's most consistent performers at Euro 2024, although it is not clear how much Tuchel rates him. The manager took the Crystal Palace captain out of his starting line-up last month against Latvia with no obvious explanation and did not bring him off the bench either. 

A foot injury put Guehi out of contention for the latest camp and Ezri Konsa, who stepped in for him when he was suspended for a game at the Euros and took his place against Latvia, performed well against Serbia in his absence before then sustaining a calf injury of his own which ruled him out against Albania. Jarell Quansah, who made his debut against Albania, is the fourth choice as things stand.

While Tuchel has shown himself to be largely uninterested in public opinion when it comes to picking players, a couple of options he previously favoured have fallen out of favour due to the decisions of other coaches.

Myles Lewis-Skelly scored the first goal of the Tuchel era against Albania back in March amid his stunning breakthrough season for Arsenal, but he has since faded from the picture for club and, by extension, country. The left-back has fallen behind Riccardo Calafiori in the pecking order for Mikel Arteta and has only started four games this season, none of which have come in the Premier League.

Tuchel continued to pick Lewis-Skelly for the fixtures in September and October, but drew the line this time around, partly because Nico O'Reilly's form for Manchester City was impossible to ignore. O'Reilly completed 90 minutes against both Serbia and Albania and now looks to be the frontrunner to be first-choice left-back at the World Cup, especially if Lewis-Skelly continues to get little playing time with Arsenal.

Tuchel acted more swiftly to drop Trent Alexander-Arnold following his slow start with Real Madrid, dropping him for the September games and has not recalled him since. England do have many other options at right-back, although Tino Livramento is currently out with a knee problem and Reece James has a complicated injury history of his own, even if he has remained fit so far this season.

Alexander-Arnold remains a classy option to return to given his vision and passing ability, but Tuchel, rather like with Arteta, is at the mercy of Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, who has handed the former Liverpool right-back just three starts in all competitions so far this term.

Phil Foden had a mixed return to the England squad as he made his first international appearances since March. On one hand, he performed well in both games, laying on an assist for Eberechi Eze against Serbia before adding some spark and flair off the bench against Albania. On the other hand, he was a substitute on both occasions, a strange situation to be in for one of Manchester City's leading lights.

Tuchel had promised "central roles" for Foden and Bellingham when he recalled both players into the squad, so it was slightly surprising to see Foden start neither game. The coach, however, had admitted that he did not envisage playing Foden, Bellingham and Kane together as they all work best in central areas. He ended up going back on his word against Albania, although the trio were only on the pitch together for 22 minutes.

It will be fascinating to see for how long Foden can tolerate being a substitute when the World Cup begins. The truth is that a bit of flexibility in selection is what is needed rather than cramming the biggest names into the same team, but it will require a big show of humility from Foden. 

The midfielder has experienced periods in and out of City's starting line-up, and despite what he has achieved in the game, there is no indication that he thinks he is too big to start on the bench. If Foden is ready and willing to continue in the role of substitute, he could be an incredible asset to introduce against tired teams at the World Cup.

It is ironic that England were ridiculously lopsided at Euro 2024 due to a lack of options on the left-hand side, but now have an embarrassment of riches in the position. Rashford is in unbelievable form for Barcelona and on Sunday came off the bench to set up Kane's second goal, and while Eze may have produced a disappointing performance in Albania, he did score a spectacular goal against Serbia three days previously and has netted in each of his last three appearances for the Three Lions as a substitute.

Then there is Anthony Gordon, who missed this camp with injury but was one of England's best players in the 5-0 thumping of Latvia last month. Tuchel took a bold move in recalling Rashford to the squad back in March after he had been phased out by Southgate and banished from Manchester United by Ruben Amorim. The decision was ridiculed by some United fans who had grown weary of Rashford in his final few months at Old Trafford, but Tuchel has been proven right.

Rashford and Gordon are neck-and-neck for the position while Eze looks to be in third place as he is more of an inside winger, although it also makes him more versatile and a very handy squad player to have around.