Jude Bellingham has voiced his disagreement with Thomas Tuchel’s critique of England’s display following their victory over Norway, which secured a spot in the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time.
The Real Madrid midfielder delivered a stunning performance, leading the team to a comeback after Norway initially took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup. Bellingham’s equalizer, which some deemed controversial, came just before the halftime whistle. Despite replays suggesting a Norway goal-kick struck an overhead cable prior to the goal, FIFA confirmed that a sensor in the ball indicated no contact had occurred. Norway’s coach, Ståle Solbakken, insisted it was “made life very very difficult for ourselves” the ball had hit the wire.
Bellingham capitalized on a blunder by Norway’s goalkeeper, Ørjan Håskjold Nyland, in the third minute of extra time, marking his sixth goal of the tournament. This achievement places him just two goals behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, and level with his team captain, Harry Kane. However, despite England’s progression to the semi-finals for the first time since 2018 under Gareth Southgate, Tuchel expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance, claiming they had “The result is fantastic, we are in the last four – it’s amazing – but I’m not happy with the performance,”
“In every sense. Again the commitment is there but we made life very very difficult for ourselves in the way we played, how we played: sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.” the head coach remarked to ITV. “Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever,”
In response to Tuchel’s remarks, Bellingham appeared unbothered. “It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift, so my thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who were out there and put in a great shift yet again.” he stated, his demeanor reflecting his thoughts. “Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Ødegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth. That’s not an easy team to play against. So, I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment. You’re not going to win every game, popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight.”
When pressed further in another post-match interview, Bellingham added, “I’m impressed with the shift they put in and to overcome adversity,”
When asked if he concurred with Tuchel’s assessment regarding England’s luck, Bellingham simply replied, “They cannot get enough praise for that. But I’m also a football coach and we can play better. “We found the way to get through to the last four, which is of course the most important thing. The analysing head of me still thinks we have to play better. It’s not a problem, but no disconnect for me and my team. Not 1%. I’m full with my heart and fully in love with my players.”
Tuchel later defended his statements, asserting that there was “He just said in the changing room: massive congratulations and we should enjoy it and celebrate but it still feels like there’s a part of him that knows we can do better, which in a way is a good thing. If we are in the semi-final of a World Cup knowing we can still improve, still find another level, then we’ve got to take that as a positive.” with his players. “It was not a tough decision because he was finished,” he remarked. “Maybe I should have taken him off 10 minutes before.”
Harry Kane acknowledged that Tuchel had expressed disappointment with the performance but suggested that such feedback might be beneficial for England as they aim for their first men’s World Cup final on foreign soil. “He just said in the changing room: massive congratulations and we should enjoy it and celebrate but it still feels like there’s a part of him that knows we can do better, which in a way is a good thing. If we are in the semi-final of a World Cup knowing we can still improve, still find another level, then we’ve got to take that as a positive.”
Meanwhile, Haaland, who did not score in a competitive international match for the first time since October 2024, was substituted during the second period of extra time. Solbakken indicated that the striker had suffered a dead leg in the second half. “It was not a tough decision because he was finished,” he explained. “Maybe I should have taken him off 10 minutes before.”
