Thomas Tuchel has said that Jude Bellingham is not guaranteed a starting spot at the World Cup as England have "14 or 15 starters."
Bellingham was given the No. 10 shirt for the tournament and was expected to be a nailed-on starter alongside Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson in England's midfield.
But in qualifying, it was Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers who was often preferred over the Real Madrid star and Tuchel has again made it clear that he will have to fight for his place.
The German said: "He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters.
"These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are like 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them.
"He [Jude] looks good. He looks good in training. I think he is at the moment in a sweet spot because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch and after injury -- this is normal.
"And he is so happy to be back on the pitch. You take everything in."
Tuchel's comments attracted backlash from former England right back Gary Neville, who insisted that Bellingham is one of England's key players and has to start.
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"I love Morgan Rogers -- love him," he told The Telegraph.
"But, let's be clear, Jude Bellingham is not a sub. He's not a sub; he's a star. That's it. He's a star."
England get their World Cup campaign up and running against Croatia on June 17, before they face Ghana on June 23 and Panama on June 27.
