Paul Merson: Jude Bellingham’s deeper role gives Thomas Tuchel midfield headaches ahead of DR Congo clash | football news

Paul Merson reckons England boss Thomas Tuchel has a bit of a midfield headache after Jude Bellingham’s superb performance in the 2-0 win over Panama.

Bellingham lined up with Elliott Anderson and assisted a goal and an all-action midfield display, leaving Tuchel plenty to think about ahead of the Three Lions’ last 32 clash with DR Congo on Wednesday.

But with Declan Rice expected to return to England’s starting XI, Merson believes Tuchel has a dilemma over how he will build his midfield during the knockout stages.

Read the full thoughts of former England international Merson…

Will Tuchel keep Bellingham in a deeper role?

Thomas Tuchel now has a big problem after Jude Bellingham’s performance in a deeper role against Panama.

Bellingham is really impressive for me, but that’s where Declan Rice plays and Fit Hall plays.

But the plus for England in having Bellingham in that role is that it is much harder for opponents to pick him out when he is coming from deep.

Morgan Rodgers really struggled in the number 10 role. He barely touched the ball, just as Bellingham struggled to make an impact against Ghana, who sat deep in defence.

That area of ​​the pitch is very congested, but as a deep midfielder you can make it easy for the opposition to run past and make it much harder for them to pick out.

So what does Tuchel do? eating rice For me there is no doubt about it.

All round picture should be seen. No disrespect to Panama, but when we play against a big team, you need Rice.

Can you pair bellingham with rice? It might be tough on Elliott Anderson, but I think the issue is what do you do in the No. 10 position? Rodgers didn’t have the game of his life against Panama, but Bellingham wasn’t at his best against Ghana either.

We need to understand how we can get the ball to those who will play in the No.10 position so that they can have an impact on the game.

‘England will have to work to get the ball to Bellingham’

I wasn’t surprised by Bellingham’s performance in that deep role.

He is a top player. He wants to be on the ball, and he wants to be involved in everything. He plays the game like an enthusiastic school kid.

It reminds me of Wayne Rooney. They want the ball, and they want to have an impact all over the pitch.

Bellingham had more chances on the ball in the position he played against Panama than he did against Ghana.

The key for England is whoever is playing in the No.8 and No.10 positions trying for the ball.

Against Ghana, Bellingham was always showing but no one was getting him the ball.

I’m not comparing Bellingham to Lionel Messi, but if you look at Messi, the Argentine gives him the ball whenever he can. They go to him in tight spaces and Bellingham isn’t afraid to do it, but England need to build the confidence to be able to give it to him whenever possible.

It’s going to be tough for Bellingham to move back into the No.10 position, should Tuchel decide to do so. DR Congo is going to sit deep, too, with 10 behind the ball.

‘England have yet to reach the top’

Every time the England players get the ball, they are surrounded by two or even three defenders.

We are moving the ball quickly to the wide players but every time they double up.

Marcus Rashford had a lot of the ball in the first half against Panama but didn’t really do much. We all called for him to start before Anthony Gordon but there was no end product.

Bukayo Saka looks like he’s struggling a bit, but I think he should play.

He might be carrying a little niggle, we don’t really know, but I can’t see a world where Saka isn’t starting in big games for England as we go through this tournament.

This tournament is really starting. You have yet to hit your peak.

I like that England are not relying on just one player in this tournament. Harry Kane got his goal, the defense was fine against Ghana and Jude Bellingham stepped up against Panama.

It is what you need. We just can’t wait for Ken to deliver.

We have four wingers in the squad and I think it’s a good thing that none of them really got going. They can’t really get going yet but if that can change as we approach and move into the knockout rounds, that can only be positive for Tuchel.

The wingers have made six of the 10 so far, so if they can pick up some numbers of their own, England have the potential to go far. They can be match winners as we develop in this tournament.

‘England need to do better but still have World Cup chance’

England have to do well.

There’s something to improve when you’re playing against better teams, but the concern is that you can’t turn it on or off like a tap.

You have to build up and get better match by match. That’s what I want to see now, starting against DR Congo.

I think they’ve been seven out of 10 so far from what I’ve seen in the group stage. We did what we needed to do against Croatia, Ghana and Panama. We will need more but this is a good start.

France going forward is fantastic, Spain is Spain but I don’t think they will blow you away. They leave you in the game. I really liked when I saw Colombia against Portugal. They played with a lot of pace and energy and they know the conditions well.

It’s a very open World Cup in my opinion. Many teams have players who can hurt you on any given day. If you have a good day, you have a chance, and that’s what I love about the World Cup.

Whatever happens, you have to beat some really good teams to win.

England still have a lot to play for. Yes, we had a reality check against Ghana and – I think – against Panama. It is a matter of concern.

But we have a chance to win it while we are in this tournament. Now is the time to reproduce what we saw against Croatia – and if we do that, we have a chance. It really hopes you don’t get that.