“Maybe he just doesn’t get it” – Jude Bellingham stands firm on Thomas Tuchel’s comments about England
After standing up for the team against criticism from the England boss, Jude Bellingham has made his point even stronger, saying the manager “doesn’t know what it’s like” to play in tough conditions like these.
After England’s win over Norway, Bellingham was the star of the show, scoring twice and shining whenever he had the ball. The attacking midfielder lifted the nation again as England reached the World Cup semi-finals for only the fourth time ever, and the second time in the last three tournaments.
But the win wasn’t easy. The hot Miami sun made the game really tiring for everyone. England looked worn out, and coach Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with how the team played after the match.
“We made things very hard for ourselves today,” Tuchel said. “The result is great — we’re in the last four — but I’m not happy with how we played. We made sloppy mistakes and didn’t play fast enough. We got lucky today.”
Bellingham, however, disagreed and said he was proud of how the team fought.
“It was tough out there,” he said. “All the players worked really hard. I really appreciate everyone’s effort again.”
He stood by his words after the game, telling the BBC that winning doesn’t always mean holding onto the ball all the time, especially in tough conditions.
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions against stars like Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Musa, and Sorloth,” Bellingham said. “That’s not an easy team to face. We’ve tried to keep a positive spirit and should keep that going into the semifinals. You don’t win every game by making a thousand passes — sometimes you have to get the job done in a tough way, and we did that tonight.”
The hard work did take a toll on the players, though, which could be worrying for the games ahead. Declan Rice had to come off with injury and fitness questions, while Marc Guehi and Reece James played through pain. Bellingham himself showed signs of cramping in the middle of the field. It might be up to Tuchel to use his strong squad to rest some key players because there are two huge games coming up.