Jude Bellingham’s omission from the England squad last month had many fans worried that Thomas Tuchel was considering the unthinkable — mounting his bid to win next summer’s World Cup without the Real Madrid galactico. Was the German clipping his star midfielder’s wings for ruffling a few feathers, or was he genuinely about to exile a truly world-class talent for the sake of the collective?
Bellingham’s return for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia at Wembley this evening and Albania on Sunday answered the question — it was a “no brainer” according to his manager — but does leave England’s most talked-about player needing to show that he can function in Tuchel’s now-refined 4-2-3-1 system ... and that the team is all the better for having him in it.
