NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Comments from England manager Thomas Tuchel slightly overshadowed Jude Bellingham’s two goals against Norway last week.
Bellingham has now scored six goals at this World Cup and has had a remarkable tournament, coming up huge in the most crucial moments when England have needed him most. With back-to-back two-goal games in the last 16 and quarter-finals, he has been one of the biggest reasons why England are now in the semi-finals.
But after England’s quarter-final win over Norway, Tuchel was critical of the performance from a quality and technical point of view, saying that England “made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played, sloppy, a lot of technical errors, not quick enough. We were lucky today.”
Tuchel added, “It’s a pure mentality thing; there was no mentality problem. You could bottle it up and sell it,” Tuchel said. “It’s the quality of our game. It’s not about mentality; it’s about quality. We have to play better.”
Asked about Tuchel’s criticism, Bellingham said: “Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions,” before praising Norway as a difficult team to face and noting the heat in Miami.
FOX Sports analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović believes the full context of Tuchel’s comments may not have been presented to Bellingham by the reporter, which played a role in Bellingham’s response.
“I think it’s misinformation because if Jude would have seen the interview with Tuchel, he would have answered differently – 100%,” Ibrahimović said.
Thierry Henry agreed with Zlatan’s sentiment, but also believed that the back and forth was no big deal. Henry said there are no problems in the England camp and the focus should be on the game itself, especially with the rivalry between England and Argentina ahead of their semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday 15 July.
“Nothing has changed for me,” Henry said. “If you want to see what I have said, see it again.
“We have to talk about the game. That’s the most important thing. What animosity? There’s no animosity in there. There’s nothing in there. And I agree with Zlatan. He didn’t know how it was worded to Tuchel. That’s all. I’ll leave it there.”
“They play well the way they want to play,” added Henry. “They fight and come back. We’ll think about the style later.”
FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas had no problem with the back and forth between Bellingham and Tuchel.
“I don’t think it’s a problem. I actually love it,” Lalas said.
“I think it’s important for Tuchel to do something a little bit different to the way he reacted and make sure the players know they have a lot of work to do and they can and must improve if they ever hope to bring it home.
“And I love the fact that Jude stood up for himself and stood up for his teammates. So I don’t think the dynamic changes. I still think they respect each other even though they disagree with each other, maybe in this case.”
England face Argentina on Wednesday 15 July at the Atlanta Stadium for a place in the World Cup final on Sunday 19 July at the New York/New Jersey Stadium. Spain has already confirmed its place in the final after beating France in the other semi-final in Dallas.
