With 51 shots in 180 minutes, 12 on target and just four goals, England shook off the rust in Florida – but for a team with so much attacking heft, they lack cutting edge.
Harry Kane remains the exception to the rule of a squad light on goals. They need a Plan B that doesn’t rely on rolling the dice on battering ram Ivan Toney or a change of pace with Ollie Watkins.
Enter Jude Bellingham? That seemed to be the suggestion coming out of England’s Florida series, a gentle introduction to a month when the verdict will be delivered on the “go-big-or-go-home” appointment of Thomas Tuchel.
England’s reasoning with Tuchel is sound enough. Unlike his predecessor Gareth Southgate, who was big on vibes but had tactical shortcomings when it mattered, Tuchel has already delivered in the big moments. He’s the finisher in a tournament that demands one.
If you screwed your eyes tight enough against a fairly feeble Costa Rican challenge, you could see signs – and none was more intriguing than Bellingham getting a run at No 9, first alongside Kane before eight bright minutes in tandem with his mate Morgan Rogers.
Could Bellingham play as a No 9?
“Maybe we’ll see it at the tournament,” Tuchel said after the 3-0 win, wearing a trademark mischevious grin.
The idea is simple: Bellingham becomes the No 9 and plays it as a free role. He drops deep, he dribbles, he occupies the half spaces that cause organised defences problems. And he gives Kane space to reprise the quarter-back role that he’s been playing for Bayern Munich.
There’s also another intriguing possibility here. Tuchel loves Rogers but his idea is to have two players battling for every position in his England squad. So, if Bellingham gets the nod – and that seems now to be the very strong suggestion for Croatia – it means Rogers is on the bench.
Bellingham as a No 9 gives him the chance to get both on the pitch, perhaps when Kane is tiring in the heat or needs preserving for future assignments.
Two things spring to mind: Would Bellingham have happily accepted this role under Southgate at Euro 2024? For all the “who else” swagger in Germany, Bellingham cut a frustrated figure in that tournament. Something wasn’t right.
That he’s prepared to do it under Tuchel suggests he has been – partly at least – humbled by some of the tough-talking of last year. Bellingham has played there for Real Madrid but he’s a No 10 really, especially for England where he likes to conduct.
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Secondly, it exhibits the sort of creative thinking that is going to be needed to win the strangest World Cup of all. Anyone else still shudder at the Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard debate from 20 years ago? That kind of binary thinking was still a “thing” two years ago when Southgate shoehorned Phil Foden into the team and briefly experimented with Trent Alexander-Arnold as a No 6.
Tuchel represents a different way and Bellingham looks like a different animal these days.
“Jude has the personality to score, to be decisive and to arrive in the box so it is an option,” he said.
Given England’s challenge for the next fortnight is to unlock low blocks and crack tournament veterans Croatia, he will need a few different combinations. Bellingham’s proposed new gig feels full of promise.
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