England secured a stellar 3-0 win against Wales in a friendly match on October 9 at Wembley Stadium.
The Three Lions' head coach, Thomas Tuchel, has a lot of talented young players as well as experienced ones to name in the national squad, with some of them currently not making the cut due to their respective injuries and recent form.
Tuchel has made his stance clear on his squad selection for the 2026 World Cup and told reporters,
"We are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else. That's how it is in international football. But the thing you are playing [back to me] is not what I am saying," as per GOAL.
"You are playing the game that says: 'He [Tuchel] is saying the others who aren't in the team, you cannot build a team with them'. It's not like this. We built a team with the players who were available and they did so well so we go again with them. Nobody said we can't do the same with them. Or even better, or maybe the same level, with the others."
"For this moment we stick with our choice and the radical statement is that we don't collect the most talented players. We collect the guys who have the glue and cohesion to be the best team. Because we need to arrive as the best team. We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup because we haven't won it for decades and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time. So we have to arrive as a team or we will have no chance."
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Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham is currently not a part of Tuchel's squad and was also missing in action in the September international break after undergoing surgery for a long-term shoulder injury. The Englishman returned to the pitch for Los Blancos last month, making five appearances so far.
Bellingham's absence has raised questions about his future at La Roja ahead of the World Cup. Arsenal's Declan Rice, however, turned down these implications and backed his national teammate, mentioning that the Three Lions 'do miss' the 22-year-old midfielder along with others currently missing in the squad.
What did Arsenal star Declan Rice say?
Speaking after England's recent victory, Rice mentioned that along with Bellingham, the squad looks forward to have many of their players back, including Cole Palmer and Phil Foden among others, and said,
"I think every time you play for England, you want to grab the shirt, you want to grab your chance. But we do miss Jude, for sure. We miss Phil, we miss Cole, we miss loads of players for reasons that the manager's obviously said."
"We are obviously an unreal team, and they're in the team as well. Let's not get away from that. What they've done in an England shirt is incredible. We're looking forward to having them back next camp, hopefully. As a team, we want to keep integrating everyone as much as possible before the World Cup. I think that's the most important thing, and we've done that in the past."
England will now face Latvia in their next World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, October 14, where they could officially book their spot for next year's competition, which will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
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