There has been so much strange dialogue surrounding England during this World Cup run that it’s hard to make sense of it all. Media debates about Jude Bellingham’s presence in the team took unnecessary attention just before the campaign started. They complained about his attitude and his fit within the team.
But one of the most refreshing things about this tournament has been Bellingham himself, and the way he’s done all of his talking on the pitch — putting to bed any nonsensical noise about whether
or not he should start as part of Thomas Tuchel’s blueprint.
England head into the quarter-finals against Norway on the back of the game of the tournament — a thrilling 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca — overcoming the conditions and atmosphere.
If England are to win the World Cup, that’s the game they will look back on. More than a tactical test, it was a physical and mental battle. The degree of difficulty of that game should not be understated — prior to the England game, Mexico hadn’t lost at the Azteca since 2013, and had conceded just nine goals since that loss 13 years ago.
England needed a leader, and that leader emerged in Bellingham. He dribbled out of ravenous pressure, won challenges in midfield, had a goal-saving block just before half-time, and, oh, there’s a couple more key points: he scored England’s first two goals within a two-minute block, and, to close the game, he helped a 10-man England survive the onslaught of Mexican attacks. By the end of the 90, Bellingham had the most touches of any player on his team as well as the most dribbles and shots. He also had three tackles, four clearances, and was masterful in his ball carrying. As a little cherry on top, he also won the Man of the Match award — his third of the tournament.
Any conversation about Bellingham’s place in any scheme should be preemptively ignored and annulled. It doesn’t make any sense for a variety of reasons: Bellingham is probably the most complete and versatile player in the world, and his array of specialties makes him a tactical fit in any system. He can defend like a defensive midfielder, attack like a 10, drop in as a central midfielder, attack the box like a striker, and create from the wings. Conversations about whether or not a player can fit within a team should be reserved for limited players that are defined into one singular role — not unicorns like Bellingham that have a deep bag of tools. He is elite at several things.
The Bellingham question is very easy to answer. ‘Does he fit’ is rhetorical. A more complicated question would be: ‘Should Trent Alexander-Arnold have been called up?’
With England’s current situation, it’s hard to answer ‘no’ to that question. Reece James is elite when healthy and played under Tuchel at Chelsea, but he’s already out and Tuchel also knew that it was a risk relying on James to be stay injury-free. When James’s backup, Tino Livramento, went down injured before the tournament started, Tuchel had the opportunity to call up Trent as an emergency reinforcement, but opted not to, going for a Trevoh Chalobah, who is primarily a center-back, instead.
Now Tuchel faces a crisis: James is out, Jarell Quansah, who played right-back against Mexico, is suspended, and Djed Spence is not 100% either. The most likely scenario here is that Dan Burn comes into the team.
It’s hard to see the justification for leaving Trent home. Tuchel’s reasoning will be that he wants wing-backs who can defend, and Trent clearly does not fit that profile. But it’s still hard to rationalize. Trent, when healthy, was very good for Real Madrid this season, and his long range passing and runs down the right unlocked a lot of good offensive sequences for Real Madrid. Not having him in the squad as an option, especially given the health of James as well as the injury to Livramento, could come back to haunt Tuchel now.
But England will have enough talent still to get past Norway, who are a difficult matchup. One of the keys will be to make sure Bellingham doesn’t pick up a yellow card, which could see him miss the semi-final against (probably) Argentina.
