World Cup 2026

Jude Bellingham fires back at Thomas Tuchel: “Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like”

The England match-winner dismissed the head coach’s criticism, calling for a “positive attitude” in the camp.

Marco Bello
Journalist, AS USA
A journalist, soccer fanatic and Shrewsbury Town fan, Will’s love for the game has withstood countless playoff final losses. After graduating from the University of Liverpool he wrote for a number of British publications before joining AS USA in 2020. His work focuses on the Premier League, LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and the global game.
Update:

England star Jude Bellingham hit out at head coach Thomas Tuchel for comments made after the 2-1 win over Norway in the World Cup quarter-final.

Bellingham scored twice in the win, taking his tournament tally to six goals in six games as England booked a place in the semi-final. But Tuchel was unhappy with his team’s performance, describing it as “sloppy” in his post-game interview.

When asked about those comments, Bellingham replied: “Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions, against [Erling] Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against.”

“I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment, we should try to continue that into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads,” Bellingham continued.

“You’re not gonna win every game popping the ball about and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty and we done that again tonight.”

What did Thomas Tuchel say about England?

England had to work hard for the victory over Norway, battling back from a first-half screamer from Andreas Schjelderup and going the full 120 minutes to win the game in extra-time. However there is certainly room for improve in the Three Lions’ performance, failing to dominate the game and relying again on key moments from star players.

Tuchel said that his team had “made life very, very difficult for ourselves today” in a post-game interview. He continued: “The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four. It’s amazing. I’m not happy with the performance.

“In every sense. The commitment is there but we made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played. Sloppy, tactical mistakes, not fast enough. Not repetitive enough. We were lucky enough.

“We will get better, we need to get better. Now it’s celebrations. Now it’s taking it all in. We need everything to make a better performance.”

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