Thomas Tuchel responds after Jude Bellingham’s angry reaction to England sub

Jude Bellingham was unhappy after being brought off by England boss Thomas Tuchel during their World Cup qualifier against Albania

England head coach Thomas Tuchel says he will review Jude Bellingham’s angry reaction to being substituted during the Three Lions’ 2-0 win over Albania. The Real Madrid star was brought off in the dying embers of the final World Cup qualifier as he made way for Morgan Rogers with six minutes of normal time remaining.

The former Chelsea boss reasoned with the response from the midfielder, explaining that most professional footballers do not like being brought off. But he says that he doesn’t want to make the incident “bigger than it is”.

It is the latest flashpoint in a bubbling storyline between the England superstar and the head coach with the World Cup around the corner. The 22-year-old mustered a 25-minute cameo in the 2-0 win over Serbia on Thursday as qualification for this summer’s World Cup was secured, thanks to efforts from Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Ebere Eze.

READ MORE: England player ratings vs Albania as Three Lions head to World Cup with perfect recordREAD MORE: Three England stars immediately prove Thomas Tuchel wrong in Albania win

Unlike the encounter at Wembley, Bellingham was afforded a place in the squad from the off and managed almost 90 minutes. However, he was sacrificed in the latter stages, minutes after being booked for an over-zealous challenge on Armando Broja.

“Yeah he didn’t like it but no-one likes it,” said the German. “But that’s how it is, Morgan [Rogers] didn’t like to be out and didn’t deserve to be out but that was the decision. Jude was also on a yellow card and I made the decision before the second goal and the decision stands.”

“I didn’t see it that way. I have to review it. I saw he was not happy, I don’t want to make it bigger at the moment than it is.

“To a certain degree, if you have a player like Jude that is so competitive that never likes it.

“My words stand, we are about standards, level and commitment to each other and respect to each other.

“We will not change our decision just because someone waves their arms.”

Harry Kane scored two second-half goals to add to his tally for the Three Lions as they completed the qualification phase with the perfect record. In winning their eighth match of the campaign, they maintained their display of not conceding a single goal during their path to qualification.

But the triumph threatens to be overshadowed by the latest incident involving Bellingham and Tuchel, days after the manager revealed that he expects players to be “angry” if they’re not selected.

“You can be angry at the coach, you can be angry at the situation, but if you see the nations that win, see the clubs that win the Champions League, then the bench is on their feet,” he said.

“For the last eight to 10 minutes there is no-one sat there thinking: ‘I should be on the field, I should be on the field, why am I not there?’ They are just there. I experienced this once in the amazing run with Chelsea and it was non-stop, everyone was pushing and fighting from the bench even if they were not picked and they were ready.

“This makes the difference in the end and I strongly, strongly believe we should arrive with a team like that. Even if they are disappointed, which is absolutely normal. They will never be happy, they don’t have to be happy, no one is used to sit on the bench, this is the nature of a strong national team.”

Since officially taking over in January, Tuchel has already been forced to apologise to Bellingham. The German landed himself in both when he explained that his mother found the anger shown by the England as “repulsive”. But he explained that he used the word unintentionally.

“I used this word unintentionally, just to make it very clear,” he explained.

“There was no message. There was no hidden agenda.

“I fully understood and understand that it’s my responsibility that I created these headlines. I am sorry for the upset and I am sorry for the headlines I created.

“I am experienced enough and should’ve known better, I should’ve done better. I thought I had a little more credit with you guys (media) that I do all this in my second language.

“I did it the morning after a loss, with not a lot of sleep, in a live interview, and I used the wrong word. Again, it’s my responsibility.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.