Jude Bellingham’s 2026 World Cup place UNDER THREAT if others keep delivering, INSISTS Craig Hope!

Will Thomas Tuchel drop Jude Bellingham at the 2026 World Cup? talkSPORT’s Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist discuss.

Subscribe: https://youtube.com/c/talkSPORT

Enjoyed this YouTube video? 😍

🖥️ talkSPORT’s Website: https://talksport.com/
📲 talkSPORT’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkSPORT
📷 talkSPORT’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talksport/?hl=en
👤 talkSPORT’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talkSPORT/
📱 talkSPORT’s Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talksport?

🔴 Download the talkSPORT app HERE! – https://talksport.com/apps/

🔎 Want to see if you feature on our YouTube channel? Check out our Best talkSPORT callers playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFVMnSsi_04LGLa9pS9xDv__me-Gjmlu2

#thomastuchel
#englandfc
#talkSPORT
#PremierLeague

talking of entertainment brings us to England
in Latvia tonight yeah okay I know dodgy link it’s live
on talk sport Thomas Tuchel’s men they’ll guarantee a first place finish with Victory, who enter this one on a miserable run. But they’re used to miserable runs
because there are 137th in the world. Speaking to TalkSport,
Thomas Tuchel says he still needs 100 % from his team.
No, he doesn’t really. Heading into tonight. We want to push for 90 minutes when we wear the shirt and we want to make our fans proud
and we want to make ourselves happy when we’re in the dressing room, we want to sweat, be tired. No one has to be ashamed of being tired. It’s a good thing
and we don’t want to get away with the easiest effort or with half the effort. We want to put all the effort in and create then a feeling that it’s nice to work
as a team and to work hard and to run. At the moment we are a running team
and I think this is infectious and creates a good energy and the demands are high. The team is following so keep on going. Just before we move on to England,
it’s really got people going. Ross says the fact
that you think you don’t need to make me physically fit. The play golf shows you’re clueless, Jeff. I give to you Craig Stadler Ross.
All right? Stick that where the sun don’t shine, pal. The walrus.
Remember, who can forget the walrus? Anyway.
And then the follow-on question, right? I mean, I’m taking it to an extreme here now. The legendary, the man that gave us,
you and I, our most entertaining minutes ever on this programme,
surely Garry Kasparov. He’s got to come into this.
Is he a sportsman? Hang on.
You’re taking this into unknown territory. I think if you watch the Ryder Cup,
look, is Bob McIntyre based in the States? Because he can’t hear us
because it’s not exactly, you know, the best physical specimen. You wouldn’t say, wow, there is a physically fit sportsman,
would you? Big Monty.
He’s brilliant. Colin Montgomery.
Fantastic. Million examples. Right, we hope
that the England team are going to be a bit fitter than Monty and Craig Stadler this evening in Latvia,
even though they may not absolutely need to be at their best. Joining us more
on this is the Daily Mail’s chief football reporter, Craig Hope. Morning, Craig.
Morning, Craig. Morning, Craig.
Morning, Craig. Morning,
Morning, guys. So look, Thomas Tuchel says his team
still need to give 100 % tonight and as a manager, of course, he would require
that from his side. But let’s be brutally
honest. Is there anything to be learned
for Tuchel from this game tonight? Absolutely, yeah, Jeff.
I listened to you then. I understand why you do it down to a degree
and you look at England needing this victory against Latvia to go through to the World Cup and you might question do they actually need to give her 100 % well yeah they do because Tuchel’s created this environment now where every minute does matter and while it not
might not be about an isolation getting the result against
Latvia as you quite rightly assume Jeff they can probably go in at 75-80 % and get the victory they need to go
to the finals in North America it’s about more than that because Thomas Tuchel quite cleverly and all of a sudden has created this climate of fear around
selection, and I mean that in the best way, fear in a
motivating way, a fear which brings out the best in his players.
They know that what they do off the pitch
and on the pitch over what are only five or six games
before the World Cup is going to determine whether
they’re in that squad or not.
And I like what he’s doing.
And we spoke to Jordan Pickford yesterday, and he
talked a lot about Team England. Now, Team England was a thing
under Gareth Southgate, this isn’t something new, but Gareth Southgate’s Team England was more
about inclusion. Thomas Tuchel’s could be about exclusion
and I hope you get what I mean by that. It’s the players he’s left out who have
created this sense of needing to perform, of needing to be a good citizen on the team,
on the training pitch, around the Team Hotel. So while you say it doesn’t matter, I would flip that,
and I would say it every minute matters right now. I see where you’re coming from, Craig,
and I think probably with England more than anybody,
because we’ve been sitting for the last couple of days discussing Scotland’s performances
right in the last
couple of games and with the
greatest respect I’m completely
over it because
it’s all about points for us
but it’s a completely different
scenario in England we saw it
England’s because England’s record
in qualification is just about a given
they qualify for everything and you can argue,
so they should So it does come
down to the level of
performance and what you are actually watching because
99 you’re going to win
so I think there is maybe not an added pressure
but there is an extreme pressure on England players
to perform you just have to look at that
was it the Albania game where they won quite confidently the result
and the performance wasn’t up to scratch and all of them saying well they better
do better over in Serbia and they did so I think rightly
or wrongly but I think it’s factually correct I think there’s probably slightly more pressure on England performances than they are certainly some of the other
countries. Yeah, and look at the most informative thing of all this, Ali,
was the first half hour against Wales on Thursday night when, given it was a friendly and they’ve got to qualify
four days later. The players might have been forgiven
for being sort of heart-cooked, having a different mentality. That half hour
against Wales was the most intense and the most inventive. I’ve seen England play for a long time,
certainly under Thomas Tuchel,
and that goes back to the point I made. When you leave out a player like Jude Bellingham, like Phil Foden,
like Jack Grealish, and those with possession of the jersey, look at that. They know they’ve got to perform to stay there, and I like what Tushin has created.
He’s been criticised for leaving out Bellingham and there’s this whole debate around whether he’ll come back or not
but what it’s done is, it’s inspired Morgan Rodgers,
it’s inspired Elliot Arderson and they aren’t playing with
the belief and the assumption now that the big boys will return as soon
as they’re fit or back in form. No. If you’re in possession, it’s yours to keep and I like that and you can see
it in performances. Yeah, and I completely
get that, Craig, and I I completely guess Tom’s talking
about Team England and the team ethos and things like that. But how difficult is
that going to be to maintain? If Bellingham comes back, or Foden,
or Alexander-Arnold, or Grealish, Liv Rimenta, Maduaki, Rhys James, Ollie Watkins, Adam
Wharton. How difficult is it going to be
to maintain that appearance of a group which is
bonded together as a team? It goes back to what I said before,
Jeff. What Gareth Southgate,
and I love Gareth by the way, I thought he was genius to me, the way
he made the players feel good and support us about wearing the badge and being part of that Team England.
Gareth Southgate would have brought those players back in and tried to include
them. Thomas Tuchel’s method of dealing with this might just be to leave them out.
He doesn’t care he’s only here until after the world
cut up the contract he has signed he knows that he’s got to create a team every time we sit down with him every time we speak to him he talks
about creating a team that does not mean the best 11 players so his solution to
all of that Jeff might be just not to bring them back
into the squad to keep this group he’s got and I think he wants to do
that it’s why he placed such great stock on the performance
against Wales when we were out in Serbia he was so relieved
and encouraged by what he’d seen in the camp happy campers good trainers good teammates as well if he sees that again
during this camp you might just keep it for November and then again going
into March it’ll be harder for those on the outside to get back in
than it would have been previously. Wow Craig that’s a brave call
because it’s easy to do when you’re winning but it’s not so easy to do
if you’re not winning when you come up against the big powers. Do you know what I think boys? I think that the secret
and if Thomas Tuchel can get this than fair play to him. I think the secret is getting the balance, right? And by that I mean of course players who are
in possession of the jersey I think deserve to keep it but at the same time there’ll be a balance
of great players who can do things differently and also managers do have players
and coaches do have players who they know they can rely on that might bout one injury
and they accept it but if it came to a big match I’m not
saying they’re always going to start but the manager knows he can hang his hat
on them so I think Craig the secret
and if he can get it is the balance between the two yeah we were sat last
night amongst ourselves actually after the press conference debate
and whether Jude Bellingham will start the opening game at the World Cup next summer
and it seems unthinkable that we’re even having that discussion
in that debate but that shows you what Thomas Tuchel
has created my answer to the to the question was as we were sat there I honestly think
there’s a part of Tuchel doesn’t want to start Jude Bellingham. He’s come in
and there is something quite clearly judging by his comments and extension. His selections that he doesn’t like about Jude Bellingham,
I think Thomas Tuchel will want this to work. He will want them to go and
win well tonight. He will want them to be good teammates
and again next month. That means Jude Bellingham,
yes as you say Ali, it’ll be a hell
of a call actually leaving him out of the squad given the moments he can produce
but does that mean he’s a starter? In conclusion,
my answer to the debate we had last night was no I don’t think he will start
the opening game if the World Cup next year provide him. Those who are there at the moment are still
in form and fit. Craig it’s an interesting
discussion, it really is. Thank you very much indeed.
Thanks to your team and enjoy the game.