Jude Bellingham hit back at criticism of England's performance from Thomas Tuchel after his two goals against Norway booked a place in the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time. The Real Madrid star inspired a comeback victory after Andreas Schjelderup had given Norway the lead, with Bellingham scoring a controversial equaliser just before half-time.
Controversial Goal and Norway's Complaint
Replays appeared to show a Norway goal-kick hitting an overhead cable in the buildup, although Fifa released a statement saying a sensor in the ball showed no evidence it had touched. Norway's coach, Ståle Solbakken, said it was “pretty clear” it had. Bellingham then pounced on a mistake from Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Håskjold Nyland in the third minute of extra time to score his sixth goal of the World Cup, two behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, and level with his captain, Harry Kane.
Tuchel's Criticism
Despite England reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2018 under Gareth Southgate, Tuchel was clearly not happy with the performance and claimed his players had “made life very very difficult for ourselves.” “The result is fantastic, we are in the last four – it's amazing – but I'm not happy with the performance,” the head coach told ITV. “In every sense. Again the commitment is there but we made life very very difficult for ourselves in the way we played, how we played: sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”
Bellingham's Response
But asked to respond to that criticism, Bellingham was clearly not impressed. “Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever,” he said, his body language also telling. “It's difficult out there. It's a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift, so my thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who were out there and put in a great shift yet again.” Pressed further in another post-match interview, Bellingham said: “Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Ødegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth. That's not an easy team to play against. So, I think we've tried to create a positive environment. You're not going to win every game, popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we've done that again tonight.” Asked whether he agreed with Tuchel's assessment that England were lucky, he replied: “No comment.”
Tuchel Defends Comments
Tuchel later defended his comments and insisted that there was “no disconnect” with his players. “I'm impressed with the shift they put in and to overcome adversity,” he said. “They cannot get enough praise for that. But I'm also a football coach and we can play better. We found the way to get through to the last four, which is of course the most important thing. The analysing head of me still thinks we have to play better. It's not a problem, but no disconnect for me and my team. Not 1%. I'm full with my heart and fully in love with my players.”
Kane's Perspective
Harry Kane said Tuchel had been less than impressed with the performance but believes that could be exactly what England need if they are to reach a first men's World Cup final on foreign soil. “He just said in the changing room: massive congratulations and we should enjoy it and celebrate but it still feels like there's a part of him that knows we can do better, which in a way is a good thing. If we are in the semi-final of a World Cup knowing we can still improve, still find another level, then we've got to take that as a positive.”
Haaland's Struggles
Haaland, who failed to score in a competitive international match for the first time since October 2024, was replaced for the second period of extra time. Solbakken said the striker sustained a dead leg in the second half. “It was not a tough decision because he was finished,” he said. “Maybe I should have taken him off 10 minutes before.”
