England is advancing to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 win over Norway, thanks to a heroic brace from star midfielder Jude Bellingham. But as the team celebrated the victory, England manager Thomas Tuchel was more focused on what the players needed to do better, calling it a “lucky” win and bluntly chiding the team for their “sloppy” tactics.
When asked about Tuchel’s criticism after the game, though, Bellingham brushed it off.
Advertisement
“Yeah, well, whatever,” Bellingham said. “It’s difficult out there … All of the players have put in a very tough shift.”
In an oddly contentious postgame interview on Fox Sports, Tuchel didn’t hold back when digging into England’s flaws after the win.
“The commitment is there, but we made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played,” Tuchel said. “Sloppy, lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough. Not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.
“We will get better. We need to get better,” he continued. “Now it’s celebration, and now it’s taking it all in. We have three days, we need everything. We need (a) better performance.”
Bellingham, though, wasn’t having it. When again asked by reporters about Tuchel’s critiques, the 23-year-old midfielder conceded that “maybe” Tuchel expected more from the team, tactically, but that the German-born manager didn’t experience what England did on the field.
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Ødegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth. That’s not an easy team to play against,” Bellingham said, via DAZN Football. “I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment, we should continue that going into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads,” he continued.
Bellingham picked up both of England’s goals, first an equalizer just before halftime and then a go-ahead goal early in extra time.
Advertisement
Tuchel, a highly decorated coach with managerial experience at top clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, joined England as their head coach in 2025. Tuchel replaced longtime coach Gareth Southgate, who stepped down after the team fell to Spain in the 2024 Euro finals.
Under Tuchel, England has done well, winning its group and rolling past DR Congo, Mexico and now Norway on the way back to the semifinals. The team is aiming to make it back to the World Cup final for the first time since England won its sole World Cup trophy back in 1966.
That journey will continue on Wednesday, with England facing the winner of Argentina-Switzerland in Atlanta for the second semifinal.
