Jermaine Pennant: Bellingham must start for England

Former Premier League winger Jermaine Pennant has told NewBettingSites.uk that he believes Jude Bellingham is one of England’s most important players and he must be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI at the 2026 World Cup.

Highlighting Bellingham’s tendency to pop up with important goals in big games for his national team, as he did at last year’s European Championship, Pennant believes the Real Madrid midfielder deserves to start for England next summer.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Pennant said: “Starting Jude Bellingham is the best option for England. Looking at the other options, Phil Foden doesn’t tend to produce the goods for England in the No10 position to the level that Jude does.

“Morgan Rogers is a good, young talent and a great player, but whether he can step up in a major tournament is a bit of an unknown. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been good in the qualifiers, but I would have more faith in Bellingham when it gets to the World Cup and the crucial games in that tournament.

“England always seem to dominate qualifiers and friendlies and it almost doesn’t matter who plays in those matches, they usually play well. In the major competitions, we need players like Bellingham to take games by the scruff of the neck, score important goals and get us out of trouble.

“He has proven that he can be relied upon in those big moments with what he did at the Euros. Given what he has shown in an England shirt so far, Bellingham is one of the main players and he has to start.

“All these sagas are just the media trying to create a stir. We’ve seen it recently with the stories about him not being happy when he was subbed off against Albania. No player likes coming off and I know I hated it.

“In a game where you’ve taken the lead, you’re dominating and feeling like there might be more goals in it, of course you don’t want to come off. You want to get on the scoresheet or get an assist. It’s the same feeling every attacker who prides themselves on scoring and assisting will get.”

I like what I’ve seen from Tuchel

Pennant is pleased with what he has seen from Tuchel’s England side, praising their winning mentality.

“I like what I’ve seen from Thomas Tuchel’s England side so far,” said Pennant. “They didn’t concede a goal in World Cup qualifying and won every game – you can’t do much more than that. We look more ruthless as well. We’re putting four or five goals past weaker teams that we should be racking up big scores against.

“Under Gareth Southgate, it seemed more like they were just concerned with not losing and they were happy to just win one or two nil. Tuchel has changed that. He recognises there is too much attacking talent in the squad to settle for that; he wants to kill teams off. No matter what the score is, he always wants another goal. It’s a joy to watch.”

Tuchel can lead England to World Cup glory

The former winger added that he thinks next year’s World Cup is the best chance England have had of winning a major tournament in recent years.

“From what we’ve seen, you’d have to say Thomas Tuchel looks capable of winning the World Cup with England,” he said. “We’ve gone close in major tournaments so many times but just haven’t been able to get over the line.

“Looking at the team now, it’s stronger than it has been for the last few tournaments, especially with some of the new boys coming in who have started really well. The likes of Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton have looked like seasoned pros in an England shirt, despite the fact they’ve only played a handful of games.

“We now have a manager who knows how to win big tournaments and a very deep, talented squad. This is our best chance of bringing some major silverware back to England.”