Paul Scholes has criticised Thomas Tuchel for playing Jude Bellingham in the wrong position, suggesting the England manager may still be unsure of his best starting XI at the World Cup. England played out a goalless draw with Ghana on Tuesday, struggling to create chances against a stubborn Ghanaian defence.
England's Midfield Struggles
Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice started in midfield, a pairing that looks set to be Tuchel's first-choice this summer, with Kobbie Mainoo waiting on the bench. Bellingham has been deployed as a no10 ahead of Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze, and has been England's standout performer across two games. However, Manchester United legend Scholes believes Bellingham should be used in a deeper midfield role.
Scholes also argued that the Rice-Anderson combination is too conservative against teams that defend deep, claiming Tuchel picked the wrong team against Ghana. 'The midfield just isn't right,' Scholes told The Good, The Bad and The Football, brought to you by Midnite. 'In a game like that when you are going to have a lot of the ball, you do not need Rice and Anderson together. I wouldn't be surprised if he did change it [against Panama on Saturday].'
Bellingham's Best Role
Scholes elaborated on Bellingham's optimal position: 'Bellingham is not a no10. He is a no8 who can run. A no10 gets your team playing really good football. That's not Bellingham. They do bits of magic around the box and that's not Bellingham. He's got to be arriving in the box late, and he's good enough on the ball to be able to do that.'
Scholes added: 'I think he'll wake up this morning thinking 'I picked the wrong team last night.' He picked the wrong team.' England's next match is against Panama on Saturday, where Tuchel may consider changes to address the lack of creativity.
