England pulled off a spectacular comeback against Norway to punch their ticket into the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, with Jude Bellingham leading the way with a brace. While the legendary David Beckham, who was in the stands in Miami, was visibly impressed by their efforts, the Three Lions boss, Thomas Tuchel, appeared not quite satisfied. During the post-match conversation, he bluntly criticised England’s performance and even said that they were “lucky” to get away with the 2-1 win. Bellingham, the MVP of the quarter-final, felt otherwise.
The England midfielder, who grabbed the winner in extra time, appreciated Norway’s effort, giving a shoutout to his former Borussia Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland and Atletico Madrid forward Alexander Sorloth. When asked about Tuchel’s criticism, Bellingham acknowledged it actually took a lot to overcome the Vikings, who have impressed with their never-give-up attitude throughout the campaign.
Why did Thomas Tuchel criticise England after quarter-final win?
After the match was settled after an end-to-end 120 minutes, Thomas Tuchel said, “We made life very, very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It’s amazing, but I am not happy with the performance – in every sense.”
“We made life difficult for us in the way we played and how we played – sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.. “, the manager added before lauding his team for their “mentality.”
Explaining further, Tuchel said, “No disconnect from me to my team. With my heart, I am fully in love with my players and my team, but we can play better; there are a lot of things to do better.”
Jude Bellingham fires back after Thomas Tuchel’s criticism
The Real Madrid midfielder, enjoying a dream World Cup campaign, hit back after learning about Tuchel’s remarks.
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kinds of conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa, Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against. So, I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment,” Bellingham responded.
“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,” he added.
Jude Bellingham pushed back on Thomas Tuchel’s criticism of England’s performance against Norway.
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it means to face a team with Haaland, Ødegaard, Nusa, Sørloth…”
Fair point? 👀 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/8B2UqRbXo0
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England will clash against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the semi-final on July 15.
