MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jude Bellingham praised England ‘s fighting spirit and ability to “win dirty” after Thomas Tuchel criticised their performance in beating Norway on Saturday.
The Three Lions came from a goal down to win 2-1 in extra time at Hard Rock Stadium as Bellingham scored twice to set up a semifinal showdown with either Argentina or Switzerland.
Tuchel hailed his team’s resolve in recovering from Andreas Schjelderup‘s 36th-minute opener but said he was “not happy” with the performance and suggested England “have to play better football” to achieve their ultimate aim of winning the World Cup.
When this was put to Bellingham by ITV Sport, he responded: “Yeah well, whatever. It’s a tough shift, So my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who’ve put a tough shift out there.”
And when Bellingham was later in the mixed zone asked about Tuchel’s comments and whether it displayed the high standards he expects from his England team. he answered: “Maybe, maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in these types of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Ødegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth, you know, that’s not an easy team to play against.
“We’ve tried to create a positive environment and we should continue that into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads. You’re not going to win every game popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty.”
Read more:FIFA denies ball hit wire in England’s first goal vs. Norway
As well as Norway, England had to navigate the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at the start of warmups.
Tuchel later spoke in his post-match news conference to clarify his position on the performance.
“My heart, there is no doubt, I am proud and happy and I feel so connected to this team because they just do whatever it takes to take the next step,” he said.
“They just refuse to lose. They overcome obstacles and adversity but I am also a football coach and I also have demands and of course we want to bring out the best in us and our performance because a top performance helps you win games.
“So the head of mine is not fully satisfied and not 100 percent happy with the way we played and I stand by it. I think we can play faster, more clinical, we had too many unforced errors and technical mistakes in our game that cost us a lot of belief.”
While calling for an improved performance on Wednesday when England will aim to reach just their second World Cup final and first since they won the trophy as hosts in 1966, Tuchel insisted there was no “disconnect” with this team.
Read more:Haaland, Norway condemn Brazil to earliest World Cup exit since 1990
“A lot of things we can do better, which is not a problem, but no disconnect from me to my team, not one percent. I am full with my heart and fully in love with my players and my team and the way they perform.”
Real Madrid star Bellingham has now matched Kane with six goals in this tournament, two behind France‘s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi and one shy of Haaland, who was held scoreless by England. Bellingham also scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-hosts Mexico.
