Jude Bellingham’s commanding display in a deeper midfield role against Panama has left England manager Thomas Tuchel with an unexpected problem: how to fit both the Real Madrid star and Declan Rice into the same side without unbalancing the team.

Bellingham, usually deployed as a roaming No 10, dropped alongside Elliot Anderson and dominated the game, scoring once and creating another in a 2-0 win. His performance, full of energy and authority, convinced many that he can dictate play from deep as effectively as he can influence it higher up the pitch.

For Paul Merson, that is precisely where the headache begins. Rice is England’s established holding midfielder, the player trusted to anchor the side when the opposition is stronger and the margins finer. In Merson’s view, if Rice is fit, he starts. That leaves Tuchel with a choice: keep Bellingham deeper and risk marginalising Rice, or restore Rice and push Bellingham back into a congested No 10 area where he has sometimes struggled to find space.

Merson argues that Bellingham’s late surges from midfield are far harder to track than when he operates between the lines. Against Ghana, stationed higher up, he was often starved of service as England laboured to move the ball through a packed central zone. From deeper, he can arrive rather than wait, breaking past markers and forcing defences to react on the move.

The knock-on effect is significant for others. Morgan Rogers found it difficult to influence the game as a traditional playmaker, while Anderson’s assured showing may not be enough to keep his place if Tuchel opts for a Rice-Bellingham axis. The question then becomes who, if anyone, can thrive as a No 10 when England have struggled to feed that position consistently.

Out wide, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka have yet to hit top form, often receiving the ball under intense pressure and double-marking. Tuchel will hope that as the tournament progresses, his wingers rise from solid six-out-of-10 showings to genuine match-winning levels.

For now, though, the central puzzle defines England’s prospects. Bellingham has proved he can run a game from deep. Rice remains indispensable against elite opponents. Solving that equation may determine how far England go.