Jude Bellingham has 48 senior caps for England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

England will get its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign underway when it takes on Croatia at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on Wednesday.

Thomas Tuchel has made the call of starting Jude Bellingham ahead of Morgan Rogers, who was the German’s preferred attacking midfielder in the World Cup qualification.

Bellingham had an injury-plagued season at Real Madrid, where he started just 22 La Liga matches, scoring six goals and setting up four.

In the lead up to the World Cup, Tuchel cautioned that Bellingham, who has 48 caps for England, will not be an automatic starter and will have to fight for his place.

““He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are like 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.

“He [Jude] looks good. He looks good in training. I think he is at the moment in a sweet spot because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch and after injury -- this is normal,” said Tuchel.

But after impressing in England’s friendly win over Costa Rica, the 22-year-old has seemingly won the trust of his manager.

Published on Jun 18, 2026