It seems before England prepare for the World Cup semifinal battle against fierce rivals Argentina, the Three Lions must defuse tensions in their own camp.
Jude Bellingham, the dazzling Real Madrid midfielder whose brilliant individual performance dragged England over the line against the resilient Norwegians in the quarterfinals, was not impressed with coach Thomas Tuchel’s post-match comments on Saturday night.
Following England’s 2-1 win over Norway on the back of Bellingham’s brace, the German tactician looked annoyed when asked to analyse his team’s performance.
In the last-eight game, where fortunes swung like a pendulum, England needed extra time to secure victory after Andreas Schjelderup put the Norwegians ahead in the 36th minute.
Tuchel was not impressed with how easily Norway controlled the game when they had possession.
The veteran coach even called his team ‘lucky’ to have come away with victory.
But Bellingham, one of the stars of this tournament with six goals, was not impressed with his manager’s public criticism.
“Oh well, whatever… It’s difficult out there,” man-of-the-match Bellingham said when asked about Tuchel’s post-match comments.
“It’s a tough shift. All the players put in a very tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who were out there, who put in a great shift yet again.”
Having ousted Brazil in the round of 16, Norway were one of the dark horses in the tournament.
Taking them on in the quarterfinals was never expected to be a straightforward challenge.
But Tuchel expected a far better performance from his team, which had overcome the tricky Mexican challenge at the Azteca in the round of 16.
“No one disputes that,” Tuchel said in the post-match press conference, responding to Bellingham’s comments. “I’m impressed with the shift that they put in, the effort, team spirit, the belief, and to overcome adversity and to dig in and find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level. They cannot get enough praise for that.
“But I’m also a football coach, and I think we can play better. In general, I think it was not a high-level game,” he added.
“I think we had better games in general. The analysing head in me and the football coach in me still think that we can and have to play better football.”
It’s going to be a fascinating prospect now to see if the coach and Bellingham, the biggest name in the team alongside Harry Kane, put their differences aside ahead of the Argentina clash.
Looking to end their 60-year wait for the World Cup trophy, England need their players and the manager to be in harmony as they prepare to face the defending champions — a side famous for their infectious team spirit under the talismanic Lionel Messi.
Source: Khaleej Times