Jude Bellingham appeared to be unimpressed by Thomas Tuchel’s harsh assessment of England’s performance in their World Cup quarter-final win over Norway.
England are two wins away from World Cup glory after beating Norway 2-1 in extra-time in a cagey and boiling quarter-final in Miami.
The Three Lions fell behind after Andreas Schjelderup’s cross-come-shot caught Jordan Pickford off guard but Bellingham equalised before half-time with a superb goal.
Norway appeared to be in the ascendency in the second half but England rallied in extra-time, Bellingham popping up with another decisive moment after a mistake from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to send Tuchel’s side into the semi-finals.
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Tuchel was delighted to progress to Wednesday’s semi-final, where England will play Argentina or Switzerland, but was critical of his team’s performance at the Miami Stadium.
A spiky Tuchel said on ITV: ‘We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It’s amazing but not happy with the performance. – in every sense.
‘The commitment is there but we made life difficult for is in the way we played and how we played – sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.
‘We were lucky today. We will get better. We need to. Now it’s celebration. Now it’s taking it all in. We have three days. We need everything.’
England hero Bellingham appeared irked when Tuchel’s comments were put to him in his own post-match interview.
The Real Madrid superstar, who now has six goals at this World Cup, said: ‘Yeah, well… whatever. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift.
‘All the players are putting in a tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who put in a good shift out there.’
Ex-England defender Gary Neville played down the disagreement between Tuchel and Bellingham and said it was in fact ‘very good’ for the Three Lions’ World Cup chances.
‘That’s why England brought Thomas Tuchel in – a manager who does not accept just winning the World Cup quarter-final. He wants more,’ the Manchester United legend said.
‘What they’ve done is they’ve taken him too close to the edge for his liking. You saw Messi cry the other day when they took him too close to the edge for the other day.
‘Tuchel is going: why are you putting me through this? You’re better than that. We’re higher quality. It’s brilliant to watch.
“I love both interviews. Thomas Tuchel’s was fantastic. Jude Bellingham’s response was absolutely brilliant.
‘What you’ve seen in those two interviews are massive egos, world-class players and managers. You have to be exceptional to do what those two have done.
‘In a player for England in five tournaments, I never saw that level of angst. Apart from Terry Venables and Paul Ince who both went for each other at half-time in a game at the European Championships.
‘I never saw a manager challenge the players or a player challenge the managers. It was nicey-nicey. What we’ve seen there is very good for England.’
While England face Switzerland or World Cup holders Argentina, tournament favourites France take on Spain in the other semi-final tie.
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