🔗 Share this article

England's Head Coach Thomas Tuchel asserted that he has "no issue" with Phil Foden after the trio were omitted the England squad for upcoming matches against Latvia and Wales.

Bellingham did not earn a recall despite recovering from a shoulder injury, whereas the Manchester City and Everton players are also absent despite showing improved form with their respective clubs.

Tuchel mentioned that the 22-year-old wanted to be part of the selection, after a conversation with him via telephone.

"Bellingham is a unique talent, and for exceptional talents there can always be special rules," the coach remarked about Bellingham, who's made just one start since coming back to full health.

"However we opted to maintain the simple choice of inviting the same group.

"Bellingham consistently merits to be here. There is the factor that he has not fully regained his full rhythm again at Real Madrid - he has not finished a full game.

"He wanted to be called up. We conducted a phone call."

Tuchel made an effort to highlight his positive relationship with the midfielder after he apologized to him earlier this year for describing his conduct during a match as "repulsive" in a live interview.

Tuchel explained that he used the words "without meaning to" and would be more careful going forward.

Inquired if he had a problem with Bellingham, Tuchel said: "No. There is also no problem with Phil Foden or Jack Grealish.

"Phil is back to impacting and deciding games for his club. Jack is almost to being back to the top form of himself.

"There exists no personal issue."

Bukayo Saka replacing the injured Noni Madueke is the sole alteration to the previous squad, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Quansah keeping their spots after being last-minute call-ups last month due to injury.

The Three Lions face Wales in a non-competitive match at Wembley Stadium on this Thursday before a World Cup qualifier in the Latvian capital on 14 October.

Should the team triumph in the away fixture, they will need a maximum of two more points from their final two matches - against Albania and Serbia in November - to earn a place in next summer's tournament in North America.

Strong Performance By Tuchel

England produced their best display significantly under the manager's guidance when they defeated the Serbian team 5-0 on the road in the Serbian capital in their previous match.

Tuchel stated that showing meant it an straightforward choice to keep mostly the same squad, though "there exist absolutely no guarantees" for every squad member regarding being picked.

"Our previous gathering was only three and a half weeks ago and the teamwork and spirit was at its peak. That is why we decided to invite the identical players to this session," he said.

"Foden is in a excellent run of form. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Curtis Jones and Trevoh Chalobah are getting playing time with their teams.

"There are players who warrant to be here. Palmer is injured and is a key talent. It will always be like this.

"Is our team a better team with Jude? Absolutely. But I told you before, what do we do if Jude is injured before the tournament? Do we simply give up?"

The Manager's Media Briefing Draws Attention

Thomas Tuchel once more gave a box office press briefing.

He, a expert of managing his interactions with the press, started with an opening statement to explain his thinking for his decisions.

The midfielder is ready to play and expressed interest to join to the squad, but the coach has said he preferred not to change the squad significantly after a statement 5-0 win over their opponents - where the boss said unity was at an all-time high.

But with him not selecting Bellingham, and his frequent comments about togetherness, it is difficult to avoid connect the two - even though he insisted repeatedly how he is "special" and that there is "no problem" between him and one of England's star players.

Tuchel has always made it clear that he aimed to make the national team seem like a club team and, by keeping the identical selection after a big victory, he has achieved that. But the questions will come again in the next camp if the team perform strongly in these upcoming fixtures.