Jude Bellingham embodies everything Thomas Tuchel expects from the English No.10
By OnzeActu · · 2 min read
Aligned on the sheet as an attacking midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 against Croatia, Bellingham plays a role far from the traditional “10”. Tuchel favors profiles capable of hitting on the wings and providing mobility to serve Harry Kane rather than a central playmaker who drops out.
Jude Bellingham wears number 10, he has the stature and aura of a No.10, and he was on the scoresheet as a central attacking midfielder in England's 4-2-3-1 against Croatia. However, Bellingham is not a No. 10 in the classic sense of the term. And Thomas Tuchel knows it.
The pre-tournament debate on the starting position between Bellingham and Morgan Rogers behind Harry Kane had as much to do with the character of the players as with Tuchel's precise idea of the position. The English coach displays a clear preference for eccentric profiles: direct dribblers rather than floating creators who come to take off.
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For Tuchel, the challenge is not so much to directly provide balls to Kane as to bring legs and depth so that the attacker can feed these runners. In this diagram, elements like Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon meet the criterion of the “willing runner” – voluntary runners – more than that of the particularly effective creator.
Concretely, Bellingham combines qualities of leadership and physical impact which fit into this logic: capable of placing himself between the lines while impacting and helping to create space for his partners. But his role at the Three Lions moves away from the caricature of the stationary number 10; he is more of a hybrid player, adapted to the collective needs dictated by Tuchel.