When presented with the claim that Jude Bellingham did not celebrate with his compatriots, England manager Thomas Tuchel admitted those scenes “are not the image we want” and promised to review the footage.
The German coach will find a very different picture. As Harry Kane nodded England into a 2–0 lead against Albania on Sunday evening, taking his personal tally to 78 international goals, Bellingham was indeed not part of the initial party which swarmed around the nation’s talisman.
Instead, the sage 22-year-old had made a beeline for Marcus Rashford, who delivered the vicious cross which set up Kane’s goal. Bellingham soon made his way over to his international skipper, offering two high-fives and a hug.
The argument from the probing reporter who presented Tuchel with this distorted scenario was that Bellingham had already spotted that he was going to be substituted for Morgan Rogers at the next break in play. Quite when the buccaneering midfielder would have had time to peer into the tactical plans of his manager is unclear and there was no great show of dissent when Bellingham’s number was illuminated by the fourth official. He simply bowed his head and trotted over to the touchline, where he greeted Rogers and Tuchel.
England’s manager admitted that he “saw [Bellingham] was not happy” but quickly added: “I have to review it.”
“I don’t want to make it bigger at the moment than it is,” Tuchel critically added.
Tuchel: Behaviour Is Key
As keen as Tuchel was to not be lured into more Bellingham psychodrama, he couldn’t help but provide a cautionary warning. “I don’t want to make more out of it but I stick to my words—‘behaviour is key’ and respect towards the teammates who come in,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player.
“Morgan Rogers was for sure not happy when he couldn’t start today because he deserves to play for us and he wants to play all the time. We gave him a bit of a rest because he came with a lot of minutes for his club and played against Serbia.
Bellingham has found himself at the center of a bizarre debate over attitude and arrogance in recent weeks. Tuchel hasn’t gone out of his way to quash this discourse, openly pitting the Real Madrid midfielder against Rogers in a direct battle for England’s No. 10 shirt at the World Cup.
The Aston Villa playmaker started for the Three Lions against Serbia on Thursday and battled admirably before a bright cameo from Bellingham. The Madrid man was not faultless against Albania, yet showed enough of his inherent quality to be voted England’s Player of the Match.
“Obviously when we’ve played a hard game and you’re voted by the fans the Man of the Match, it’s really nice,” he told England media. “An important win. Back in the starting after a little while. So yeah, happy with it.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jude Bellingham Sent Fresh ‘Not the Image We Want’ Warning.
