Jude Bellingham has played down his fiery exchange with Lionel Messi, insisting it was 'nothing at all' after England's 2-1 heartbreaking defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. With the atmosphere already tense in Atlanta, cameras picked up the pair locked in a sharp exchange during the first half of the semi-final.
What sparked the exchange between Bellingham and Messi?
Messi and Bellingham exchanged words after referee Ismail Elfath awarded a foul. The Real Madrid star looked clearly annoyed as he confronted Messi, but the Argentina captain brushed him off with a dismissive wave before turning away. Even as he walked, Messi kept glancing back at Bellingham, nodding as the exchange lingered.
When asked about the exchange, Bellingham explained: "We were discussing a foul actually, but it was nothing bad at all. I'm sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal but no, it was nothing big really. I thought it was a foul earlier and he said 'what about the one on me?' and I was just saying, 'you're strong enough to take them.' It's a privilege to play against him, it was nothing like that against him. Obviously I'm on the losing side, it hurts a lot but it a privilege to play against one of the best."
How did England's World Cup dream end?
England's night unravelled late on, with Argentina striking twice to snatch victory and break English hearts yet again. It marks the fifth time the Three Lions have fallen at the semi-final stage of a major tournament, with Argentina's late comeback securing a place in Sunday's final against Spain. Anthony Gordon fired England ahead ten minutes into the second half, steering in Morgan Rogers' superb cross, but Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez levelled the tie with a thunderous long-range strike five minutes from time.
As the match crept into stoppage time and with England sitting deep and having six defenders on the pitch after Thomas Tuchel's early switch to a defensive shape, Messi delivered a cross that Lautaro Martinez nodded in, breaking English hearts and completing Argentina's comeback.
Tuchel defends his defensive tactics
Tuchel, criticised for his early defensive changes that handed Argentina control of the ball, later explained the thinking behind his decisions. "We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open," said Tuchel. "Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm and played with the feeling maybe that they had nothing to lose any more, which freed them up and pulled us back because we obviously played suddenly with a feeling that we had a lot to lose. Of course the responsibility is on the coach and if it doesn't go well it's easy to say it was wrong. What cost us today was that we were not active enough in any structure. I can understand these discussions are out there and of course a million coaches after the game know it better. You can discuss this with a million coaches. I have to make a decision on the pitch. It's how I analyse the match and I take the responsibility. At the moment no regrets. The team gave everything and we were very very close. We deserved to be up 1-0. We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match under the circumstances. The team was top – we couldn't bring it over the line."
Harry Kane's heartbreak
Meanwhile, the Three Lions captain Harry Kane admitted that trying to hold the slim lead at this level is almost impossible against players of Argentina's quality. "When we went 1-0 up, we seemed to try and hold on and you know, at this level, it's not enough," the striker said. "So just gutted because we've worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is. To fall short like we did today is just gutting."
