LONDON: Jude Bellingham might have to wait to get back in the England team, with coach Thomas Tuchel saying Wednesday he is in no rush to change his system to accommodate the return of the Real Madrid star.
Since Bellingham last played for England — in a 3-1 loss to Senegal in a friendly in June — Morgan Rogers has been installed in the No. 10 role and starred in recent 5-0 wins over Serbia and Latvia that helped to clinch a spot in next year’s World Cup.
Bellingham is back in the squad after fully recovering from shoulder surgery and Tuchel sees him as a No. 10, placing him direct competition with Rogers.
“They are friends so this can also be a friendly competition,” Tuchel said at a news conference ahead of England’s home game against Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday. “You don’t have to be enemies, you don’t have to hate each other. They are respectful, they are friends with each other, and they fight at the moment for the same position.
“Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and maybe it’s not the moment to change our structure.”
Working against Bellingham is the fact that he and Phil Foden, another attacking midfielder who has regained a place in the squad, haven’t taken part in a full training session so far this week, Tuchel said. That will happen later Wednesday.
England became the first European nation to qualify for the World Cup last month, so the pressure is off Tuchel and the team heading into upcoming games against Serbia and Albania that wrap up group play.
The German coach said he isn’t thinking ahead to next year’s tournament just yet.
“So much can happen,” he said. “Nobody wants injuries to happen but injuries can happen, players can pull out, drop in form, other players can come in form, so I’m very much open for the next months.
“That’s why I don’t feel the pressure, I don’t feel the World Cup urge at the moment.”
Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team
https://arab.news/g9dr2
Jude Bellingham facing fight to get back in England team
- Bellingham is back in the squad after fully recovering from shoulder surgery
- Tuchel sees him as a No. 10, placing him direct competition with Rogers
Svitolina downs Gauff, Pegula fights back to beat Anisimova in Dubai tennis semis
- Elina Svitolina secures second consecutive victory over the world number four in a grueling three-hour encounter
DUBAI: Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina kept up her recent winning run against Coco Gauff as she edged the American 6-4 6-7(13) 6-4 on Friday to set up a final showdown with Jessica Pegula at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Pegula shook off a first-set stumble to defeat fellow American Amanda Anisimova 1-6 6-4 6-3 in the other semifinal.
Svitolina secured her second consecutive victory over the world number four in a grueling three-hour encounter, having previously beaten Gauff in straight sets at last month’s Australian Open quarter-finals.
Two-times Grand Slam champion Gauff struggled with double faults throughout the opening set as Svitolina seized control, breaking decisively to claim it 6-4.
Gauff roared back in the second set, displaying her trademark fighting spirit to force a tiebreak. The American saved four match points in a breathtaking 15-13 tiebreak thriller, keeping her hopes alive and electrifying the Dubai crowd.
The momentum swung back and forth in the decider, with the ninth game proving pivotal as it repeatedly went to deuce. Svitolina eventually held her nerve to edge ahead 5-4 before serving out the match to seal a hard-fought victory.
“I’m speechless after that fight. I was really trying to put myself out there, playing as if there was no tomorrow,” Svitolina said.
“It’s really special to be in the final again after a few years. Coco is such a big fighter. I was expecting her to come back in the match. She’s won so many big tournaments. I’m very pleased with the fight and the win,” she added.
Pegula stages comeback against Anisimova
World number six Anisimova took less than half an hour to win the first set before building a 3-1 lead in the second. But Pegula held her nerve and broke Anisimova three times in a row to win the second set, before securing victory in the decider.
“I held on to my serve there in the second set. I just kept telling myself that I had some break points in the first set, even though it was convincingly the other way, and I knew I could get some break points back,” 2024 US Open finalist Pegula said.
Pegula drew her opponent into longer rallies as she plotted her comeback, making Anisimova run back and forth with short slices and won the second set with a powerful backhand, as Anisimova’s hasty return went long.
An exhausted Anisimova found the net while attempting a drop shot, setting up Pegula’s break point to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the third set, clearing the path to her eighth WTA 1000 final.
