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thomas tuchel They say Jude Bellingham He has “the edge” that England need, and he is now “the target” he is remembered The aim is to create an environment that maximizes this. The coach insisted that before leaving Bellingham and Phil Foden It was a “message” not to any one of them but to the entire group. His England is not about individualsAnd the expectation is to “contribute” in the right environment.
Tuchel similarly said that the abundance of number-10s in the country creates a specific issue in that area, as he intends to create a “six-eight-10” midfield – but he will deviate from that slightly to incorporate Foden’s best role and potentially use him as a “nine-and-a-half”. The manager enthused that he has a “vision” for the Manchester City forward to excel in a specific role for England, and that he needs to bring out the natural joy in his game.
As Tuchel pointed out, one of England’s advantages is that they have number-10s with different qualities.
“Jude has an edge,” said the manager, “which is a very good thing because to reach the heights he has reached you need a certain edge and I think we all need to help him, and encourage him, or create an environment where he can have that edge towards the opponent, towards the goals that we are aiming for as a team. That’s the main goal.
“Now it’s important that we provide an environment and that he can live up to that environment, give us that edge in a positive way and win football games.”
Asked about whether previous omissions from the September and October squads were meant to shape Bellingham in relation to certain squad parameters, Tuchel reiterated: “I think it was a message to the guys who were in the camp rather than a message to Jude because there’s no need for people to keep their place, even if a guy like Jude, like Phil, is knocking on the door like other big names and claiming his right to come back. Yes, which is their right to claim.
“Now the message is ‘make sure you keep this thing going and make sure you accelerate this thing because we’ve got something going on here, we’re building something, we’re super-excited that you’re back but the message is – contribute to it.
“But yes, there is competition. And players will know camp by camp where they compete. If you use the example that we bring four number-10s. Because all four are individually eligible to be in the camp. And then we have four in the number-10 spot but only one left wing for example. It doesn’t make sense.
“And then there’s no point in saying, for example, Phil: ‘Now you go back, you trained so well, you played so well, you’re a nice guy, you’re a fantastic team-mate, we want you on the pitch, but there’s no room in your best position, can you play left wing for us? Can you play right wing for us?’ I think it doesn’t work. So we’re building a team, we’re building a team with positions six, eight and 10 at the moment. So this is how players compete. It brings out the best in them at this moment.
“And I think clarity is very, very important. So for this camp, Jude will be in the 10th position. For this camp, Phil will play – a bit of an exception to the rule – he will be in the 9-10th position in the middle of the pitch. And let’s see. Because I have had this fantasy about him for a long time. I think it suits him best. Second goal against [Borussia] dortmund [in last week’s Champions League] A major trade-mark for me is the Phil Foden goal. So he comes and supports Harry [Kane] More or less, in a nine-and-a-half role, probably playing for Harry or whatever.”
It was reported to Tuchel that Foden was not enjoying himself for England.
“I think you can look at a player – and I can agree with your observation – that, and you almost feel like ‘does he really enjoy this’? And a player like him who has a childish enjoyment of playing football, then obviously something is not right, whether it’s the situation, the atmosphere, I don’t know, whatever. So we have to make sure that he comes and… I think he is prepared to play for Man City, to play in a certain structure, to have a clear task. I think it helps a lot. Where do you want me to speed up the match?
“Because he’s so good at defending. He’s so diligent in defending for Man City at the moment so it starts with, perhaps, a more central role in the middle of the pitch, where he feels more confident, where there are more connections around him. We need to create that for him. And then I think we can demand stuff from him, demand stuff at the highest level. That way we hope we can help him where he gets an environment where we There may be more clarity about what that demands. A position to express his creativity and his childish joy of playing football, because that’s what he does at the moment.”
Tuchel explained how he would expect different qualities from Foden and Bellingham as number 10s, pointing out how the latter brings game-breaking ability.
“I think I can expect that from Jude. I can’t expect that from other types of players, because it’s just not their characteristics. I think the hunger, the understanding for it, the movement and then spending time in this space to tap in is a key quality of Jude.
“For different players in the same position, I would have different expectations. For Phil Foden in that position, my expectation would be that he stays around the box in a half-open body position, turns and gets open on the spot to help and shoot. Like he did against Dortmund. It’s different expectations.”
As Tuchel introduced Foden as a potential “nine and a half”, Tuchel was asked about the fact that Kane and Bellingham have only scored one goal each in 35 appearances for England. That was a 3–1 win over Scotland in September 2023.
“It’s the players’ responsibility to show the connection at some point. We can put them there, we can make it clear, we can coach them and whatever, and prepare them a certain way. But at some point they need to connect. And then we need to see what the connection is. If it suits the team. Certainly it’s our job to accommodate it. Or keep the thing going, or change it.”