Jude Bellingham must heed Thomas Tuchel warning if England are to win World Cup
It was on the day he named his first England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia that Thomas Tuchel hinted he had an eye on Jude Bellingham’s temperament.
Asked if he was aware that Jordan Henderson had missed Ajax’s Europa League second-leg thrashing at Eintracht Frankfurt for swearing at the referee in the first leg, Tuchel quickly responded: “Did he? I thought only Jude is doing that.”
The joke was a reference to the red card Bellingham had been shown for Real Madrid against Osasuna that prompted an f-word debate in Spain. Bellingham’s discipline was on the agenda again after Monday’s 3-0 win over Latvia.
Tuchel’s witty remark succeeded in relaxing the room, but also indicated an acknowledgement that Bellingham is the England player most likely to walk the line between brilliance and blowing a fuse.
Bellingham has given Tuchel a glimpse of the risk and reward he can offer and it will be up to England’s head coach whether or not he risks trying to tame his superstar or allows him to keep playing on the edge as Gareth Southgate did.
Tuchel muttered something into the ear of Bellingham when he replaced him in the 67th minute of the victory over Latvia on Monday night, at which point the 21-year-old could have already been off the pitch for a second bookable offence.
Afterwards, Tuchel admitted “we were a bit lucky” and that he had taken Bellingham off to stop him being sent off. The former Chelsea head coach will not want to rely on good fortune when the World Cup comes around or be forced into making substitutions.
It was not a particularly aggressive challenge and it certainly was not dangerous, but the frustrated second-half lunge Bellingham made on Raivis Jurkovskis could easily have earned him a second yellow card of the evening.
Fortunately, referee Orel Tsvika Grinfeeld showed some leniency by not reaching straight for a pocket and taking a moment to consider the situation before giving Bellingham a stern talking to and awarding Latvia a free-kick.
But it was also possible to feel some sympathy with Latvia’s protests and a sense of relief that this was not a more high-profile game in which Bellingham may well have been sent-off. It is certainly hard to imagine him escaping punishment for a similar challenge in a tournament while on a yellow card.
Bellingham had earned his first booking at the end of the first half for a late, mis-timed challenge, which, again, was not nasty but perhaps was the result of some frustration as England struggled to get past Latvia’s low block.
Tuchel had spoken about Bellingham’s discipline following last Friday night’s victory over Albania, but the German had been making greater reference to the midfielder’s positional play and his natural instincts to travel all over the pitch to get the ball than his temperament.
The assist Bellingham provided for Myles Lewis-Skelly to score on his debut against Albania was sublime. The pass could not have been better weighted or played with more precision.
Myles Lewis-Skelly on his debut! 🤩
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 21, 2025
The first @England goal of the Thomas Tuchel era#ITVFootball | #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/y9BvWydGt8
Bellingham was England’s best player, but there had been some familiar issues with him moving out to the left and the right to get involved and wasting unnecessary energy.
“We need to make sure that the leaders, and he is one of the leaders, and the main players, walk in the same direction and play in the same rhythm and help each other out,” said Tuchel. “And play a little more disciplined maybe, to save some energy for the decisive moments.”
Tuchel is yet to name a vice-captain to Harry Kane or an official leadership group. Bellingham has been touted as a possible contender, although Declan Rice must surely be at the front of the queue to be Kane’s deputy.
But whether he has an official title or not it is clear that Tuchel not only sees Bellingham as one of England’s ‘untouchables’ but also wants him to take on extra responsibility and lead by example.
His performance as one of two “half 10s”, as Tuchel describes the position, against Latvia in many ways demonstrated more maturity. He linked well with Marcus Rashford on the left in the first half and did not get in the way of Morgan Rogers to the right of him.
But Bellingham’s frustration almost landed England in trouble and it will be Tuchel adding his own interpretation of the f-word if his star man forces his hand again in the future.
Thomas Tuchel: Bellingham was a bit lucky to avoid second yellow
Thomas Tuchel said he subbed Jude Bellingham to save him from a red card that could have turned the World Cup qualifier against lowly-ranked Latvia on its head.
Bellingham was booked in the first half and his foul on Raivis Jurkovskis was “a bit lucky” not to receive a second yellow card while the score was 1-0, according to the England manager.
Tuchel replaced the Real Madrid midfielder with Phil Foden in the 67th minute and England immediately extended their lead through Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze.
“We had a situation with Jude Bellingham that reminded us of the things we know – that any moment you can have a yellow or red card and everything is upside down so we took the decision and the substitutions were very strong,” said Tuchel, who spoke with Bellingham as he came off and took his place on the bench.
“I think the first yellow card was harsh as he was dribbling and then suddenly had a yellow card. We had some nasty fouls from the opponent but the referee just decided to look away.
“It felt a bit strange we went into half-time with a yellow card and none of our opponents. The second one, it was possible, it would have been harsh but it would have put the game upside-down.
“Straight away we decided to take him out and get Phil ready and changed him. In general you could see the huge effort Jude put in during the first game, he did not feel so fresh which was my observation. He was getting stronger and stronger again but I didn’t want to take the risk and took him off.”
Tuchel became the first England manager to win his first two competitive games since Fabio Capello in 2008, with the games against Albania and Latvia seeing five unanswered goals.
“I’m very happy because of the players mainly,” added Tuchel. “Organisation was top, but the players made the difference like always, they reminded me instantly why I was excited about this job.
“We had good days on the pitch but also off the pitch, a positive atmosphere. Everyone is proud the play for England and everyone wants to come on. We need these type of matches with the tension of World Cup qualifiers to learn from each other. Overall we have two wins and two clean sheets and no big chances, it was a good start.”
Reece James scored the opening goal with a free-kick and barely celebrated the strike, later saying he felt frustrated in the last three seasons with his injury record limiting his action.
“It’s been a long time, I’ve had a frustrating two and a half years and I’m happy to be called up and play,” James said. “I saw the wall and thought I could bend it around. Thankfully it hit the back of the net. I was a bit surprised it hit the net, looking at the replay it was tough for the keeper to get there.”
On Tuchel, James said players have bought into his aim of winning the World Cup. “His ideas are clear, his goals and targets, he set them out from the minute he got in. We have one object and that starts from this international break and we need to keep building,” he added.
Kane scored his 71st goal for England from another Declan Rice cross.
“We spoke about those areas in the box, the width of the goal is where the most assists come from, making little runs in there. We had to be patient. We used the wide players to get down the sides and get numbers in the box. Dec thought he could make the difference with that run and then he put in a great cross across the six-yard box,” said Kane.
“The manager is fantastic. He’s settled in straight away and it’s a real pleasure to have him as a coach, that energy he has brought and passion. Tactical analysis for each game has been top top drawer. It’s the first camp and we know we’ll get better as well. He’s pleased and we’re pleased to have him.”
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