Thomas Tuchel backs Jude Bellingham to be future England captain after win over Czech Republic

By Ben Sully | 30 Sep 2026 00:42, Last updated: 30 Sep 2026 01:50

Kane successor? Tuchel backs Bellingham for England captaincy role

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has backed Jude Bellingham to become the nation's permanent captain.

After playing the full duration of Saturday's defeat to Spain, Bellingham dropped down to the bench for Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Prague.

The Real Madrid star was introduced as Harry Kane's replacement in the 71st minute and took the captain's armband from the Bayern Munich striker.

This was not the first time that Bellingham had skippered his country after briefly taking on the role for England's World Cup warm-up victory against Costa Rica in June.

Tuchel backs Bellingham to be future England skipper

Asked whether he sees Bellingham as a future England captain, Tuchel said: "If you are the captain at the end of these matches, you can for sure be the permanent captain.

"I think he loves to be with us at the moment, that's what I feel. We had this small talk today about his role and we both had our stomachs said 'let's go again, let's start again.'

"And then both our heads said 'maybe 30 minutes is enough for today' because he hasn't played this quick turnaround through this season.

"He has done it before but not in the season so we didn't want to be the first ones to try that.

"But even in this little encounter, you can see he is confident and happy to even help from the bench. So, yeah, it is a reward. It is good."

Bellingham emerges as doubt for Croatia clash

Tuchel also revealed that Bellingham finished the game with a minor issue, adding: "He had a little niggle at the end of the match, hopefully it is nothing serious and he is available for Croatia."

With Spain looking strong for a top-two finish in Group A3, England are likely to battle Croatia for the other Nations League quarter-final spot in the group.

That means Saturday's away clash takes on extra importance, so Tuchel will be keen to have Bellingham available and ready to start in Rijeka.