Jude Bellingham: England boss Thomas Tuchel to hold talks with Real Madrid midfielder but admits no certainty over World Cup selection | Football news

Thomas Tuchel says he will speak to Jude Bellingham before selecting his squad for the next England camp in November, but he has not decided which players he wants to involve.

Bellingham was a high-profile and controversial omission from Tuchel's October squad, who confirmed their qualification for next summer's World Cup final with a resounding 5-0 victory against Latviadays after another impressive 3-0 friendly win over Wales.

The England manager is adamant that there are no personal issues between him and Bellingham and that the decision to leave him out was entirely based on retaining the bulk of the squad that had performed well during the September international break.

However, Tuchel and Bellingham have not met face to face since June, when the head coach was forced to apologize for saying his mother was sometimes “repulsed” by the Real Madrid star's behavior on the pitch.

Asked if he would contact Bellingham following this camp, Tuchel replied: “I suppose so, why not? Of course. He's a great player, an important player.

“I'm going to talk to a lot of guys, and the ones that get text messages from me that aren't in camp, because these players that are here now are feeling the reward, and I also need to stay in touch with the other guys.”

Tuchel also says anyone joining the side must embrace team cohesion – he says it's “non-negotiable”.

But he goes on to say he is confident that for all the players who have already been part of his teams, it will come naturally.

“I have no doubt. I'm sure if we invite them, we're sure they'll buy in,” he said.

“It's not a punishment, they didn't do anything wrong, and I feel like when I text them and talk to them, everyone wants to come back. That's the way it should be. I trust more players than here.”

Tuchel is reluctant to focus on a single player and believes there is an unnecessary obsession with Bellingham in the media. However, his teammates spoke last week about how strange it was to not have Bellingham's presence in camp, and it's already clear that the biggest story surrounding November's team selection will be whether or not the 22-year-old was recalled.

“We have Conor Gallagher, we have Trevoh Chalobah, we have Cole Palmer injured,” Tuchel explained.

“So there are a lot of players who deserve to be with us, who are hungry and determined to be with us. It has to be like that.”

Freshly qualified, Tuchel's next priority is to begin preparations for the third international break in as many months. With England assured of top spot in Group K, they face qualifying at home to Serbia and away to Albania, with nothing material riding on the results. Tuchel says he hasn't formulated a plan yet, but they are certainly not 'dead rubbers'.

“We want to keep this going and we want to be competitive in the next two matches,” Tuchel told reporters.

Asked if, after their recent successes, he once again believed England were contenders for next summer's World Cup in North America, he replied:

“Yes, it's a possibility. I can't promise that we will win it, but we will get there with a strong team, with strong cohesion and with the right spirit. That is built on the pitch and that is the basis of it all.”