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England's Head Coach Thomas Tuchel asserted that he holds "no issue" with Jude Bellingham after these players were left out the Three Lions team for forthcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.

The midfielder did not earn a recall even after recovering from a shoulder injury, whereas the Manchester City and Everton players are also absent despite displaying improved form with their respective clubs.

The German manager revealed that Bellingham desired to be included of the selection, after a conversation with him on the phone.

"He is a special player, and for exceptional talents there can often be special rules," Tuchel said about the Real Madrid star, who's only started once since returning to fitness.

"However we decided to stick with the straightforward choice of calling up the same group.

"Bellingham always deserves to be here. There is the factor that he has not quite regained his optimal form yet at Real Madrid - he has not finished a full match.

"He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call."

The England boss made an effort to highlight his positive relationship with the midfielder after Tuchel apologized to him previously for describing his on-pitch behavior as "repulsive" in a televised interview.

Tuchel explained that he used the words "without meaning to" and would be more cautious in future.

Inquired if he had any issue with Bellingham, he said: "No. There is also no problem with Foden or Grealish.

"Foden is back to impacting and deciding games for Manchester City. Grealish is almost to returning to the top form of himself.

"There is no personal problem."

Saka replacing the injured Noni Madueke is the sole alteration to last month's team, with Loftus-Cheek and Quansah retaining their places after being last-minute call-ups last month due to injury.

England play Wales in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before a World Cup qualifier in the Latvian capital on 14 October.

Should the team win in Latvia, they will require a maximum of two more points from their remaining two matches - against Serbia and Albania in next month - to secure a place in next summer's tournament in North America.

Strong Performance By Tuchel

England delivered their best display by some distance under the manager's guidance when they beat Serbia five-nil on the road in Belgrade last time out.

Tuchel says that showing made it an easy decision to stick with mostly the same squad, though "there are no certainties" for any player regarding being picked.

"The last camp was only three and a half weeks ago and the teamwork and morale was on the highest level. That is why we chose to call up the same group to this session," he said.

"Foden is in a excellent run of form. Wharton deserves to be with us. Curtis Jones and Trevoh Chalobah are getting playing time with their clubs.

"We have players who warrant to be here. Cole Palmer is injured and is a key talent. It will always be like this.

"Is our team a better team with Jude? Absolutely. But I mentioned before, what do we do if Jude is injured before the World Cup? Do we simply give up?"

The Manager's Media Briefing Gets Noticed

Thomas Tuchel again gave a headline-grabbing news conference.

He, a master of managing his interactions with the media, started with an initial remarks to explain his thinking for his selections.

Bellingham is fit and available and wanted to join to the squad, but the coach has said he preferred not to change the team significantly after a impressive 5-0 victory over their opponents - where the manager noted team spirit was at an all-time high.

However with him not selecting Bellingham, and his frequent remarks about team spirit, it is difficult to avoid link the two - although he said repeatedly how he is "exceptional" and that there is "no problem" between him and one of England's star players.

Tuchel has consistently made it evident that he wanted to make the national team feel like a club side and, by retaining the identical selection after a big victory, he has achieved that. But the inquiries will arise once more in the next camp if the team win well in these next two matches.