‘Whatever’—Thomas Tuchel, Jude Bellingham Pitted Against Each Other After World Cup Win

Tuchel and Bellingham were both right in a manufactured feud stoked in the aftermath of England’s World Cup win over Norway.

Thomas Tuchel (left) and Jude Bellingham had a difference of opinion. | ITV Sport

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke captured the opinion of many to have worked with England manager Thomas Tuchel when he called him “a fantastic coach but a difficult person.”

At least one half of that equation was on full display during a wild-eyed conclusion to England’s World Cup quarterfinal victory over Norway on Saturday. After the Three Lions somehow scramble into the final four, Tuchel showed his spikiest side in a startling postmatch interview which not only rankled with his questioner, but also his best player, Jude Bellingham.

The discussion with ITV Sport’s Gabriel Clarke got off to a terrible start. Tuchel took exception to the suggestion that he had discussed “suffering” in the buildup to the knockout tie.

Thomas Tuchel was put through an emotional roller coaster on Saturday. | Richard Pelham/Getty Images

“I didn’t talk about suffering. I never did,” Tuchel fumed before turning his attention to why England did suffer. “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 us 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.”

Tuchel had spoken about taking the handbrake off and playing with a freedom. None of that was on display in a nervy encounter which was won through moments of individual excellence rather than any grand tactical plan.

That was a pretty fierce reaction for a manager eyeing up a World Cup semifinal, but Tuchel charged into the red mist when he was asked by Clarke if the poor display was a question of “mentality.”

Tuchel couldn’t or had no interest hiding his disdain at that suggestion.

“It’s not the mentality,” he shot back. “This is pure mentality. It’s not about mentality. You can bottle it up and sell it. It’s about the quality—we need to play better.”

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Bellingham Hits Back at Tuchel Criticism

Jude Bellingham is irrepressible. | Elsa/Getty Images

Bitten by Tuchel’s sharp retort, Clarke, who is one of England’s most respected and experienced broadcasters, relayed the manager’s criticism to Bellingham without providing any explanation.

In a bad reenactment of the Telephone game, Tuchel’s frustration with England’s “sloppy” play was mangled into a broad disdain for the whole performance. Having emptied his tank to score twice in a second successive knockout tie, Bellingham could be forgiven for not exactly enjoying the news that his manager wasn’t impressed.

“Yeah well, whatever,” the 23-year-old shrugged. “Whatever. It’s difficult out there, it’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players out there who put in a great shift.”

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Tuchel and Bellingham Should Not Get Pulled Into Fake Feud

Jude Bellingham (left) is Thomas Tuchel’s most important player. | Elsa/Getty Images

What Clarke failed to mention was that Tuchel also hailed Bellingham as “world class” and described his match-winning display as just another example of his brilliance as he “does it every single match.”

Bellingham himself described England as “lucky”—which was Tuchel’s main point—before he got dragged into this fake feud.

It’s an easy media narrative to stoke the flames of this particular manager-player relationship. Whispers of discontent were sparked when Tuchel called Bellingham’s on-pitch behavior “repulsive” last year while the tournament build-up was dominated by speculation that Morgan Rogers could start as England’s No. 10. Yet, in reality, Tuchel only wants the best for Bellingham.

That “repulsive” comment was a consequence of speaking in his second language and came with a swift apology. What public doubt there had been about Bellingham’s place in the team was seemingly never entertained by Tuchel, who has started his star man throughout the tournament. If there is any edge to the relationship, it could be beneficial: Bellingham has admitted this summer how he improves by playing with “a chip on my shoulder.”

“That helps me a lot to find that focus early in the game and to find that intensity.”

Bellingham emphatically found all those qualities against Norway. Tuchel’s only issue was that so many other England players weren’t able to.

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