If England go on to achieve ultimate success at the World Cup, there is an outside chance Jude Bellingham will think it is despite Thomas Tuchel rather than because of him. But if England go on to emerge victorious, no-one will care if Bellingham is having issues with Tuchel or not.
Contrasting Management Styles
From the outside, it is hard to be certain about the nature of their relationship but one thing is for sure. It is not the same as the one Gareth Southgate and Bellingham enjoyed. There was huge respect between those two. Bellingham liked the way Southgate realised there were demands on him that were relatively unusual. Essentially, Southgate believed a big part of his job was to help Bellingham cope with the spotlight that has been on him from a very young age.
Even though we do not know how the pair interact behind closed doors, it is safe to say Tuchel does not think in a similar way to Southgate. And the proof that the German’s methods - using the stick rather than the carrot - are working has come via Bellingham’s performances in the tournament. England have a semi-final date with Argentina.
Bellingham's Tournament Performance
In the quarter-finals of the last World Cup, in Qatar in 2022, Southgate needed his star midfielder to step up against France and Bellingham didn’t really do that. Bellingham had a mixed Euro 2024. He certainly stepped up against Norway in Miami the other day, just as he had done against Mexico in the Azteca. Bellingham is one of the favourites to win the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament’s best player.
He has scored six goals in England's march to the World Cup semi-finals. He would need to inspire England to an appearance in Sunday’s final, but there is every chance he will do just that. And if Bellingham’s motivation has somehow been made greater by Tuchel’s criticism of his team’s win over Norway, then no-one will care. Not in the here and now, anyway.
Public Friction and Managerial Approach
Bellingham snapped back at Tuchel, and understandably so. These are grown players and should not need to be indulged or molly-coddled but they did not deserve criticism after coming through another match in a hugely demanding tournament, and making it through to the last four. Having heard Tuchel talk about his mother finding some of Bellingham’s behaviour ‘repulsive’ - for which he later apologised, in fairness - the player knows about criticism from the manager. Tuchel would probably call it tough love but it comes across as no love at all. My guess is there is certainly no love lost between the two.
Does this matter? Not when England are winning and getting to the semi-finals of a World Cup, of course not. Will it be an issue going forward, now that Tuchel appears to be staying in the job for another two years? Yes, it will be. Whatever you think of the questions asked by the ITV interviewer, it seems obvious the dynamic between Tuchel and Bellingham is a delicate one. But never mind that two-year extension Tuchel signed ahead of the tournament, he was originally brought in to do one thing. He was brought in to win this World Cup. And if he does that and upsets Bellingham along the way, that will be just fine with every England fan out there.
