Bellingham’s display – Jude Bellingham’s standout display against Costa Rica has immediately complicated Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup opener plans, with the No.10 debate now taking on a different shape. Craig Hope details what the England manager got from Bellingham, Anthony Gordon’s s
When Thomas Tuchel watched Jude Bellingham switch on inside minutes of England’s 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday. it looked less like a warm-up and more like a message. The day after England’s session in West Palm Beach. where Tuchel talked publicly about proving they can win without leaning on individuals. Bellingham arrived with the kind of star gravity that makes decisions harder.
Tuchel had insisted before the World Cup that the headline should be England’s collective belief. “We have a lot of proof we can win football matches without Jude and that’s the more important headline. ” he said. He added: “Jude is in amazing form but we have to stop talking about individuals. Jude will not win this World Cup alone. It’s simply impossible. No-one will win this World Cup alone. We win it as a team.” In the room. it had felt like Morgan Rogers had the inside track to the No.10 role.
But in Orlando. Bellingham was given the chance to shine alongside Harry Kane. Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice — the combination Tuchel said he wanted to see. “I wanted to see Jude in combination with Harry (Kane), Elliot (Anderson) and Declan (Rice). I know what Morgan (Rogers) gives us there,” Tuchel said. “For Jude it was the first time. He buys into these ideas. He has to and he loves to do it. He did it like everyone else on a high level.”.
The details mattered. Tuchel highlighted how quickly England’s energy was shaped off the ball. saying: “The energy off the ball set the tone. We have made it clear our DNA is off the ball.” Bellingham’s work showed it. He closed down a clearance inside 30 seconds, forcing the tempo and putting England on the front foot.
On it, the contributions were the kind that get noticed even by fans who arrived expecting a controlled rehearsal. There was a killer pass that sent Noni Madueke clear. There was also a dribble that led to England’s penalty for their second goal.
Bellingham might not dominate every moment of a match from minute one to 90. but he doesn’t have to in Tuchel’s system. What he did in Orlando was seize the big occasions — the part of the game that makes an opener feel different. And the verdict from this performance is direct: it should not be a question anymore.
Tuchel may still favour Rogers for the opener against Croatia in Dallas, but this warm-up felt like Bellingham pushing back hard against the idea of leaving him out. The debate will continue, but the case is straightforward: Bellingham should start.
If Bellingham complicated one selection, Anthony Gordon complicated another. Gordon’s inclusion had initially felt like a practical decision after Marcus Rashford’s 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa. with Rashford apparently looking a step ahead in the race for minutes. Gordon’s start against Costa Rica, though, felt like he had other ideas.
He did not ease into the game. From the first minute, Gordon burst in behind Costa Rica’s defence inside 60 seconds. Ten minutes later, he repeated the threat, burning his full back and then pulling the ball back for Rice to turn in the opening goal.
There was a dip after that early surge — understandable given this was his first start since April — but Gordon found a second wind after half-time. He kept his discipline as well, staying wide on the left, which is a preference of Tuchel. In the end. he sealed his statement with his own decisive moment: smashing his 68th-minute penalty into the top left corner.
So impactful was he that the question is now open. even if it’s uncomfortable for anyone who had imagined the opener going one way. Gordon may have arrived to get minutes, but he now carries momentum that could follow him into Dallas against Croatia. Before this match, Tuchel would have absolutely had Rashford in mind for the curtain-raiser. After Orlando, it looks like a toss of a coin.
The third selection puzzle came from the back. Marc Guehi’s absence from the starting XI in Orlando was a surprise. Guehi, it felt, should have been the first name on the team-sheet in the back four. Tuchel. after all. had shown he trusts certain options — but his choice not to start Guehi suggests he may be ready to make a different bet.
The partnership that did take the field — John Stones with Ezri Konsa — felt naturally balanced, even against lesser opposition. The logic is simple and familiar: if Stones is fit, he should play. Stones had been England’s best performer in the Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain. and Tuchel places great stock in that memory. For Tuchel to get that version of Stones back. he needs rhythm and confidence. and he has had that across the two warm-up matches.
Konsa, for his part, has “never let England down,” and he was cool and composed against Costa Rica. His defence-first mindset complements Stones’ ball-playing qualities, and that fit — more than the individual qualities on paper — is part of why this partnership is growing into a real option.
Guehi, by contrast, is described as a hybrid of the two, which makes this call feel more complicated than it should. If Guehi is not starting in Dallas, it would be a shock. Yet Tuchel has now created a genuine headache by letting a pairing look so naturally suited to one another.
England will now walk into their World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas with one clear theme emerging from Orlando: Tuchel’s problems may still be “nice problems. ” but they are problems all the same. Bellingham has seized his chance in a way that makes “Rogers at No.10” feel less settled. Gordon has pushed his case with pace, sharp decision-making and a goal from the penalty spot. And at the back. a Stones-Konsa partnership is starting to look like it could survive the weight of expectation that comes with an opening match.
England World Cup Croatia Dallas Thomas Tuchel Jude Bellingham Morgan Rogers Anthony Gordon Marc Guehi John Stones Ezri Konsa Harry Kane Declan Rice Elliot Anderson Noni Madueke Costa Rica