One of Ghana’s opponents at the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, England, has a serious battle for places in their starting lineup according to their manager Thomas Tuchel.
This battle for places in the starting lineup per Tuchel includes Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham who is set to compete in his first World Cup.
Tuchel shared this in an interview with reporters following England’s 1-0 win over New Zealand in a pre-World Cup friendly.
England are preparing to play another friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday, June 10 and the game offers an opportunity for Bellingham to play his way into the starting lineup.
“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 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.”

“Yes, he has” Tuchel responded to a question if Bellingham had a fight on his hands to be in the starting lineup.

England are in Group L with Panama, Ghana and Croatia.









