Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden & the eight England players with the most at stake in Three Lions' final World Cup qualifiers

Bellingham was made to sweat, but he is back for the November camp after returning to form and fitness at Real Madrid. In truth, omitting him would have been an astounding decision after he was overlooked in October, not long after his return from shoulder surgery, with Tuchel this time unable to point to the need for him to get back into his groove at club level and potentially generating some serious scrutiny over what has been going on behind the scenes.

As it is, the midfield dynamo has been recalled, but he will certainly feel he has a point to prove amid question marks over whether his fiery on-pitch demeanour is actually to the detriment of the team, and with Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers making a play for his starting place in recent matches. How that desire to stake his claim manifests itself will be highly intriguing, as Bellingham finds himself joining up with an otherwise-settled squad for the first time since Tuchel was forced to apologise to him for revealing that his own mother sometimes finds the midfielder's antics "repulsive" in the summer.

The manager has spoken about harnessing the "edge" the 22-year-old brings: "There is no problem with him, there is no problem with the character. Jude just has the edge, it is a very good thing because you need a certain edge to reach the heights that he reached and I think we all need to help him and encourage him and create an environment which he can live this edge towards the opponents and towards the goals we are building as a team."

A late call-up for England's final World Cup qualifiers after Marc Guehi was left unable to walk following a heavy blow in Crystal Palace's Conference League clash against AZ Alkmaar, Chalobah will be acutely aware that he already faces an uphill battle to guarantee a place in England's travelling party to North America, let alone a starting place.

Tuchel has handed him his senior debut at both club and international level, but the 26-year-old hadn't been included in a Three Lions squad since the June camp, when Chalobah collected his one and only cap to date in a dire 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at Nottingham Forest's City Ground - a game in which he didn't cover himself in glory as he started and played the full 90 minutes.

Chalobah, though, continues to be a regular starter for Chelsea this season under Enzo Maresca, and while his performances have been inconsistent, he will want to seize this second chance that has been provided to him by Guehi's injury. With the Palace man arguably the only nailed-on starter at the World Cup, there is plenty of scope for other centre-backs to assert themselves. This could well be Chalobah's last chance to do so.

Judging by Tuchel's recent selection calls, Foden is well and truly in the last chance saloon as the World Cup looms large on the horizon. This is the Manchester City man's first call-up since the head coach began work in earnest back in March, as he was overlooked in June and October, either side of an injury that kept him out in September.

While he would be the first to admit that he still isn't back to his best, Foden seems to have overcome the physical and mental issues that took such a toll on him last season, revealing that he is 'playing with a smile on his face' again and producing a particularly impressive individual performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League recently. However, an inability to deliver for England has long been his kryptonite, and the coach's decision to omit him previously suggests the 25-year-old is under serious pressure to prove himself in the colours of his national team.

Interestingly, Tuchel has now insisted that he won't use Foden as a winger like his predecessor Gareth Southgate did, meaning he faces some serious competition from the likes of Bellingham, Rogers, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White for the attacking midfield berth.

"It does not make sense to tell, for example, 'Phil...there's no space in your best position, can you play left wing for us? Can you play right wing for us?' I think that does not work," the manager said. "For this camp, Phil will be in the number 9-10ish position, in the middle of the pitch. Because I have this fantasy about him since a long time. I think it suits him the most."

Nico O'Reilly certainly won't be fazed by the challenge of nailing down a place in Tuchel's squad, having made smooth progress to become a first-team regular at Man City aged just 20, under the revered Pep Guardiola, no less. However, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty at stake as he effectively looks to keep Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly out of the squad.

The left-back, who is nominally a midfielder, was included in the squad for the games against Wales and Latvia in October but didn't make it off the bench. This time, though, O'Reilly will expect to get an opportunity with nothing riding on the final qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, especially with Lewis-Skelly being dropped as the teenager pays the price for a lack of minutes at club level.

Indeed, the battle to be one of the left-backs included in the World Cup squad will seemingly come down to club game time, with Tottenham's Djed Spence looking likely to be involved. O'Reilly is currently a regular starter for City and that seems unlikely to change as he keeps fit-again Rayan Ait-Nouri out of the team, while his chances are boosted because the Algerian will soon jet off for the Africa Cup of Nations.

As we've touched upon, at least one centre-back slot is fair game as things stand as a number of players vie for the position alongside Guehi. However, like Chalobah, Quansah is someone who feels as though they are on the periphery as the clock ticks down towards Tuchel's final squad selection.

A graduate of the Under-21 squad that triumphed at the European Championship (again) in the summer, the ex-Liverpool man is actually yet to make his senior bow despite being involved in the March, September and October camps. That will be a concern, as Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa have all earned minutes in that time.

Quansah is getting plenty of game time at Bayer Leverkusen, where he has helped the Bundesliga giants make a solid start to the season, but it's clear he needs to do more to command a chance from Tuchel. He will hope November's dead-rubber clashes give him the platform to show what he can do.

A surprise call-up, Alex Scott will be well aware that he's up against it with scant opportunities to make an impression before Tuchel names his squad for the tournament in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. That said, the pressure is arguably off him and there could be an opportunity to stake a claim in midfield.

Elliot Anderson's sudden rise to prominence under Tuchel should certainly serve as motivation for the Bournemouth man, who, like his Nottingham Forest counterpart, will be competing for either the No.6 or No.8 position alongside Declan Rice, with Adam Wharton probably the biggest threat to his chances. Indeed, there is an opening to at least make it into the travelling party, with the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Conor Gallagher and Curtis Jones still being overlooked.

Another graduate of the U21 squad, Scott will be buoyed by the head coach's glowing words about him following his call-up. "He had an excellent Euros," Tuchel said. "He did an excellent job in midfield together with Elliot Anderson, who is now a regular starter for us - he was very impressive. Then he took another step and becomes a very regular starter for Bournemouth and they are in the top third of the league. They are over-performing constantly and he is a starter for them. He puts the intensity in and he gets his minutes. So, we thought it was maybe a perfect time to reward him and get to know him and to see what he can bring to our team."

Some believed James Trafford would be the man to dethrone long-time England No.1 Jordan Pickford when he left Burnley this summer, but a return to Man City has proven to be ill-advised for the 23-year-old. Following a difficult start to the season as first-choice goalkeeper, he was swiftly replaced by fellow new arrival Gianluigi Donnarumma - considered by many to be the best on the planet - and he doesn't look likely to regain the gloves anytime soon.

Indeed, Tuchel had initially omitted Trafford from his squad for the clashes against Serbia and Albania for the first time since taking the reins, but a concussion suffered by the recalled Nick Pope - whom Newcastle had wanted him to replace in the summer transfer window - has given the shot-stopper a reprieve, for the time being at least.

It's worth bearing in mind that, despite being involved in the German tactician's camps, the City academy graduate is still yet to make his senior Three Lions bow, with the manager making it abundantly clear that his players need to be regulars at club level to stand any chance of breaking into his plans. Trafford, then, may well have to consider his future in January.

After a public outcry that was particularly loud in a certain corner of south London, Wharton is finally back in the England fold for the first time since being included in the squad for Euro 2024, where he didn't get onto the pitch. In fact, the midfielder's one and only cap remains a 28-minute cameo against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a warm-up game for that tournament, 17 months ago. He had been forced to withdraw from the group for the September camp through injury.

Finally, though, the 21-year-old is back in the picture, although he will know he has his work cut out. Wharton has shone for Crystal Palace, starting every game he has been available for this season in the Premier League, but it seems Tuchel may not see him as the right tactical fit for his system after snubbing him in October, much to many fans' surprise. He now finds himself competing with the likes of Anderson and Scott.

"Hopefully he will not pick up any injury or illness," the England boss said. "They still have two matches, so hopefully he stays fit. The talent is obvious and he will be alongside Elliot Anderson and Jordan Henderson in defensive midfield and hopefully try to impress us. I think it's the right thing to do, it's the right call-up to reward him. Hopefully three times is the lucky number for him."