Why Jude Bellingham's place in the England squad is becoming less certain ahead of the World Cup

Beat Latvia on Tuesday evening – as they most probably will – and England will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. It will have been done at a canter. It will also have been done without too much help from Jude Bellingham.

The 22-year-old played in Thomas Tuchel’s first four matches as England manager, but an assist against Albania has been the sum total of his production since the German took charge. Now he isn’t even in the squad.

Injury has played a part in that, but this is also a magnificently gifted player who hasn’t quite found his place under new Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso – and whose played in the England squad suddenly seems a little tenuous. So why was Bellingham left out, and is there any chance that England travel to the United States without him?

Why isn’t Jude Bellingham in the England squad?

Bellingham missed the September international break after sustaining a shoulder injury which required surgery – but he’s now back in action for Real Madrid and has played in each of their last five matches.

Only one of those appearances at club level was a start. Bellingham played 70 minutes during Real’s rather humbling 5-2 defeat at the hands of cross-city rivals Atlético and was back on the bench three days later. He has been mostly restricted to cameos since Alonso took over at the Bernabeu, and hasn’t scored or set up a goal since the Club World Cup.

His fitness has played a significant part in that, of course, and remains the primary reason that he has been left out of the England squad for the games against Wales and Latvia. If the he isn’t 100% fit and communications with his club have suggested that a rest would be beneficial, then it was the natural move to leave him out of the squad.

His absence, therefore, isn’t too shocking, and perhaps there is only so much that can be read into it – but people will read into it, partly because of the storm-in-a-teacup controversy generated when Tuchel told the press that his mother found Bellingham’s on-field behaviour “repulsive,” and partly because there is some slight concern over the long-term trends shown by his form in Spain.

Tuchel, for his part, has been perfectly supportive of Bellingham in public. The comment about his mother’s view of the former Borussia Dortmund man was intended as a light-hearted jest that was quickly taken out of both context and proportion by the usual suspects in the media. In the very same comments, Tuchel described his midfielder as “very open, very intelligent” and “a special boy,” even if he did also gently critique the way that Bellingham directed his “fire” – for instance, at the referees.

There was nothing in Tuchel’s comments at the time to suggest that he was concerned about Bellingham’s attitude or aptitude, or that his place was under threat. But should we be worried by his performances at club level?

Is Bellingham struggling for form at Real Madrid?

Bellingham’s form has only declined in a very relative sense. He started his Real Madrid career in explosive fashion, scoring 19 La Liga goals in the 2023/24 season, largely playing as a false nine as he demonstrated unexpected versatility and predatory instincts in the penalty area. But he didn’t quite recapture the same form last season as his side missed out on the Spanish title, and the ever-reactionary Spanish press has been getting a little restless.

Bellingham scored just nine goals in 2024/25, partly as a result of playing back in midfield following the arrival of Kylian Mbappé, but he had almost exactly the same expected goals’ worth of chances and there were slight declines in his passing accuracy and volume of chances created to go alongside the sense that he wasn’t grabbing quite so many games by the scruff of the neck.

It's that capacity to win games by himself when required – his tournament-saving overhead kick against Slovakia, to offer perhaps the most heroic example – which makes Bellingham so valuable, more so than his undoubted technical qualities or the stats which underpin his game.

England are not short of attacking midfielders, after all, and to win his place back he will have to get past Morgan Rogers, who scored the opening goal against Wales last week and played the number ten role very well against Serbia when England dismantled them in Belgrade to seize control of Group K.

Bellingham probably does face a positional problem. Under Gareth Southgate, he was used as both a 10 and as a central midfielder, but Tuchel is committed to using a more defensively-minded midfield pairing, a fact highlighted by the recent recall of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the continued presence of Jordan Henderson in the squad.

That leaves Bellingham as a specialist attacking midfielder, and that’s a role for which there is fierce competition. Rogers may be struggling at club level of late but he’s been impressive for England, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White have become increasingly regular fixtures in the squad, Cole Palmer may be back from injury in time for the next international break in November and Phil Foden may yet be a factor, even if he is stuck outside the squad for now. Bellingham cannot afford to be below his best if he wants to start.

Bellingham’s immense talent – not to mention his track record of creating decisive moments of match-winning brilliance with the national team – suggest that he will surely be involved in Tuchel’s squads going forward, will surely go to the World Cup, and will surely be a factor in the United States. But his margin for error has become slimmer, and the pressure on his place is being cranked up by his Three Lions colleagues and by his situation in Spain.

This is a player who has always responded well to pressure so far, and who has always found ways to be brilliant when called upon - but it won’t get any easier for Bellingham between now and next summer. From England’s perspective, however, that’s probably a good thing. After all, if even Bellingham finds it tough to get into the national team, it must be a very good team indeed.