Thomas Tuchel kickstarts his England tenure with World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia later in March. All eyes will be on how he fares and how he eventually gets on in the World Cup next year.
By the time England are playing in the 2026 World Cup, Sunderland may well be a Premier League team, with Regis Le Bris’ side currently sitting in 4th place of the Championship table after a 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
The Black Cats appointed Le Bris in the summer and their fortunes have since changed. Though how Thomas Tuchel eventually fares with England remains to be seen, with the jury out among many supporters.
And who he picks for his side remains a bit of a mystery too. Gareth Southgate almost re-wrote the rulebook in terms of selection, picking players who played well in the side together but who maybe weren’t the superstars that we’ve seen in previous England selections.
In fact, Tuchel was even looking in the Championship for possible options, with a certain Sunderland name coming into the conversation.
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Thomas Tuchel was considering Jobe Bellingham for shock England call
Jobe Bellingham has been one of Sunderland’s stars of the season so far. The 19-year-old has featured 31 times in the Championship this season, scoring four goals and assisting three more, having also impressed for England’s U21s too.
And at the start of the year, it was revealed that Bellingham was being considered by the England national team with Tuchel said to have been impressed with his performances in the Championship, so much so that Bellingham was in contention to feature alongside brother Jude in the senior side.
However, Jobe has had a tough run of form in recent weeks, and his chances of what would still be an incredible England call up seem to have dwindled as quickly as they came about.
Jobe Bellingham ‘finding his feet again’ at Sunderland
There’s a growing sense that Bellingham is among the Sunderland players in need of a break. He’s still a very young player, and one who plays a very physical and taxing game, with some of his performances in recent weeks having looked a bit leggy.
Despite the win against Sheffield Wednesday, Gary Bennett said Bellingham looked off the pace that day. The former Sunderland man explained: “He was quiet. As the game went on he started to grow into the game and right near the end he started to get hold of the ball and started to drive forward. I just think he’s just finding his feet again.”
After yet another long and arduous season, it looks like Bellingham is slowing down, simply being in need of a rest after making huge strides in his game on the whole this season.
An England call up always seemed unlikely but it shows how highly thought of he is within the international set up, and a big move this summer could yet see him come into contention for the 2026 World Cup.