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England’s victory over Norway did not come without controversy after the game for the Three Lions.
Star midfielder Jude Bellingham scored twice to give England a 2-1 extra-time victory that sent them into the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time ever. After the game, head coach Thomas Tuchel pointed out during an interview on the pitch that his team could have been much better.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” Tuchel said in a post-match interview on FOX Sports. “The result is great. We’re in the last four. It’s great, but not happy with the performance … in every sense.”
Bellingham, who scored both of England’s goals to take his tally for the tournament to six, appeared to disagree with his coach’s criticism after England prevailed in the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at the start of the warm-up.
“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head. “It’s tough out there. It’s a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation go out to the players out there who have made a great shift.”
“I think it would probably catch you a little off-guard,” former WC defenseman Walk Zimmerman told us of the comments and Bellingham’s response. “That’s the kind of thing that would fly, I think, at club level when you’re playing game in, game out. For a knockout tournament, I think the most important thing is that you can say we didn’t play well, then you immediately recognize: ‘We won, we’re moving on. We’re going to enjoy this today and look at what we can do better’.”
Former US men’s national team coach and FOX Sports analyst Bob Bradley downplayed the impact of Tuchel’s comments, which struck a chord with Bellingham.
“I don’t think it’s anything,” Bradley said, calling the comments “emotions after the game.”
“Tuchel, like many of us, is never satisfied and always demanding,” Bradley told us. “Bellingham represents the players and effort against a good team.”
Tuchel clarified in his press conference that he was “proud and happy” at how his squad have overcome adversity, but added: “I am also a football coach and I also have demands… I think we can play faster. I think we can play more clinically.”
Bellingham added: “The game is broken down into lots of different facets. Some of it is technical, tactical. For me, the biggest one is psychological and how you deal with setbacks, how you deal with adversity. This team showed once again that they can do that and that’s a really valuable skill and attribute to have.”
Former USA midfielder and FOX Sports analyst Sacha Kljestan believes the comments will not affect England as they approach a semi-final clash with reigning champions Argentina.
“I don’t think it’s a very big deal,” Kljestan told us. “He was clearly exhausted after putting in a huge effort. Maybe after watching the game back he will see that England were a bit sloppy on the day. He has a right to say what he said and I don’t think it should be a big deal.”
“At the end of the day, I think it’s a non-story, frankly,” Zimmerman added. “It’s going to be just fine in the locker room. Neither of them is going to think twice about it.”
Next up for England is a semifinal match against Argentina on Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta (3 p.m. ET on FOX and streaming on FOX One).
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