Thomas Tuchel insisted England were “lucky” to reach the World Cup semi-finals and described their performance against Norway as “sloppy”, but Jude Bellingham disagrees.
Jude Bellingham did not stand by manager Thomas Tuchel after England beat Norway (Image: FIFA)
England star Jude Bellingham has further highlighted his disagreement with manager Thomas Tuchel, suggesting the manager “doesn’t understand” just how difficult it was to win against Norway in the quarter-finals. Bellingham, 23, scored two goals for the Three Lions as they came from behind to win 2-1 in extra time.
The match was played in Miami’s scorching heat and humidity, and England had to overcome the conditions to get over the line. After the game, Tuchel was not one to make excuses.
“We were lucky,” insisted the England manager. “We made life very difficult for ourselves. The result is great. We are in the last four. It’s great, but (I’m) not satisfied with the performance. In every sense of the word.”
“We made life difficult for ourselves with the way we played and the way we played. We were sloppy, we made a lot of technical mistakes, we didn’t have enough speed, we didn’t have enough repetition.”
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In an interview with ITV, Bellingham denied those comments and defended his teammates. The midfielder then doubled down during another conversation with journalists at Hard Rock Stadium.
“Maybe he (Tuchel) doesn’t know what it’s like to play against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Soros in those conditions,” Bellingham said. “They are not an easy team to play against.
“I can’t praise our players enough. You can’t win every game by running the ball and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to come out with a muddy win. And we did that today.”
Who do you agree with more: Thomas Tuchel or Jude Bellingham? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Jude Bellingham admits England had to get a “dirty” win against Norway (Image: Liu Lu/VCG via Getty Images)
England have been criticized for their defensive performance since the opening game. But it was the Three Lions’ toothless attack that stood out against Norway, who looked more threatening throughout the 120 minutes.
Tuchel insists he still “loves” his team, but expects more. “There is no disconnect between me and the team,” the German player declared. “I truly love the players and the team, but we can play better and there are a lot of things we need to improve on.”
England face reigning champions Argentina in a mouth-watering semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday (kick-off 8pm UK time). The winner will play either France or Spain at the same time on Tuesday in Dallas.
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