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Tournament Briefing1h ago4 min read

National Team Watch

England's balance sheet: the midfield structure that could decide whether the World Cup run is real.

England have the talent. The real question is whether the midfield and rest-defence can carry the side through seven different game states.

ENG Jude Bellingham Bukayo Saka

England's balance sheet: the midfield structure that could decide whether the World Cup run is real.

Tactical Lens·Tactics

Jude Bellingham

22 · CM · Real Madrid

Position

CM / CAM

Nation

England

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Category

National Team Watch

Published

1h ago

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Tournament Briefing

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Jude Bellingham Bukayo Saka

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Keep reading

Tuchel: Bellingham is better when he plays with a 'bit of rage'

Thomas Tuchel believes a "bit of rage" gets the best out of Jude Bellingham as the England star and his team-mates prepare to face the Czech Republic.

Big game Bellingham steps up again with show-stopping World Cup run for England | Andrew Beasley

Real Madrid forward is thriving on the global stage as the first player to score twice in consecutive knockout matches at the tournament since Maradona in 1986 England’s World Cup journey has rapidly become the Jude Bellingham show. He scored twice to see off Norway on Saturday having also bagged a double in the previous round against Mexico. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder loves delivering on the biggest of stages. This is the greatest era of World Cup goal scoring, aided by the expansion of the tournament. The two leading scorers of all time are still in the 2026 edition, with Lionel Messi (21 goals) and Kylian Mbappé (20) joined by Harry Kane (14) in the top six. Erling Haaland scored seven times in only five matches, meaning he may be in the upper reaches of the chart by the time he retires, too. Continue reading...

Fluency the key for Noni Madueke before England’s ‘difficult’ DR Congo test

Arsenal star says squad has practised penalties Bukayo Saka provides ‘healthy competition’ for place Noni Madueke has warned that England must not take the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) lightly but expects a much more fluent attacking display than against Ghana during the group stages. England struggled to break down Carlos Queiroz’s side in the 0-0 draw in Boston last week and the DRC are expected to employ the same counterattacking style for the last-32 tie in Atlanta on Wednesday. Madueke started against Croatia and Ghana before losing his place to his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka for the win against Panama. Continue reading...

Brazil fans were waiting for Vinícius Júnior to be their hero. He’s arrived

Vini Jr has been a star at Real Madrid for a long time. Now he is truly delivering for his country at a World Cup “I’m so happy to see you happy. Living a dream. It’s Brazil,” wrote Vinícius Júnior on Instagram after Brazil’s 3-0 win against Scotland. In the accompanying photograph he was holding his arms open – in the style of his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham. When Bellingham pulled out that pose after scoring for England at Euro 2024, he famously shouted: “ Who else? ” When Vinícius found the net it felt more like he was saying: “I’ve arrived.” It took a while. Vinícius won his first cap in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Peru in 2019 and was mostly on the bench when Brazil hosted the Copa América in 2021. He didn’t score his first international goal until his 19th appearance – a 4-0 thrashing of Chile in a World Cup qualifier in 2022. By the time the World Cup kicked off in Qatar later that year, he had added clinical finishing to his speed and there were greater expectations. Continue reading...

Bukayo Saka is playing through pain barrier, says Tuchel, as World Cup looms

Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury ‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’ Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large. The Arsenal winger joined up with the England squad in West Palm Beach on Saturday after being given an extra week off after his involvement in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain . Tuchel gave a similar break to his other Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke. Continue reading...

Defensive flux gives Tuchel headache but Alexander-Arnold could be remedy | Jacob Steinberg

Chopping and changing the back four has been a big feature for England this year and the Real Madrid man could be a solution England ended 2025 protected by a shield of deceptive strength. They went through qualifying for the World Cup without conceding a goal and secured a shutout during a routine friendly win against Wales. However, clean sheets have been harder to come by this year. England have kept four in 13 games in 2026, meaning it may not be long before Thomas Tuchel rethinks his suggestion that the way to deal with his side’s lack of control is to embrace chaos. There is, of course, an irony to telling Tuchel to sort out his defence. Isn’t this what we wanted? England were limp and passive when they lost their World Cup semi-final against Argentina. At least the mindset was positive when Tuchel’s side opened their Nations League campaign with a sprightly but flawed 3-2 defeat against Spain last Saturday. Continue reading...

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