Thomas Tuchel has warned Jude Bellingham “behaviour is key” after his angry reaction to being substituted in the 2-0 win over Albania.
Bellingham was clearly upset when Morgan Rogers – his rival for the No 10 role – was being prepared to come on, moments after Harry Kane’s second goal had secured England’s 100 per cent record in World Cup qualification.
Tuchel had brought Bellingham, 22, back into his team for the final Group K match after putting him on the bench against Serbia on his return to the squad after missing the October international break.
Bellingham’s behaviour towards his own team-mates and referees has previously been highlighted by Tuchel, who is trying to form a “brotherhood” among his squad heading into the World Cup next year.
And the German said he would review the Real Madrid midfielder’s actions after confirming he was upset to be taken off.
“I have to review it. I saw he was not happy,” said Tuchel. “To a certain degree if you have players like Jude who are so competitive they will never like it but my word stands. It is about standards, about level, and a commitment and respect to each other. So someone is waiting and we will not change our decision because someone is waving their arms.
“That is the decision and he has to accept the decision. His friend is waiting on the sidelines so you need to accept it, respect it and keep on going.”
He added: “I don’t want to make more out of it, but I stick to my words, ‘behaviour is key’ and respect towards the team-mates who come in. Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player.”
Bellingham was booked for a foul on Armando Broja and involved in an off-the-ball shove on Myrto Uzuni early in the game. At half-time, Albania midfielder Kristjan Asllani also asked to swap shirts with Bellingham.
Tuchel said: “It is a thing now. I don’t like it so much, I’m a bit old school and thought I would never give the impression at half-time to an opponent that I want to have his shirt. But I think we have to accept new times.”
Harry Kane’s two goals, his 77th and 78th for England, took him past Pelé’s tally for Brazil.
“We just mentioned it in the dressing room. This cherry on top of everything is that he overcomes Pelé today,” said Tuchel. “The investment of Harry in these matches is just outstanding. He is so invested in everything that we do.
“If you see him play for Bayern Munich, I have to say it’s the same. He’s in a mindset and a physical condition that is absolutely at the highest level. He produces goal after goal for us, and the way he works, tracks back, finds solutions in offensive play. It’s just outstanding at the moment.”
Bellingham’s ego is his super-strength: Tuchel must get the best out of him
Who else? No matter how much Thomas Tuchel tries to make the England team a “brotherhood”, Jude Bellingham will always be in the spotlight as the leading man.
Even when Pelé’s international goalscoring record is surpassed by an England player, the story revolves around Bellingham. It was the 22-year-old who was approached for a cringe-inducing shirt swap at half-time, nobody else.
No other player in Tuchel’s squad would protest like Bellingham did when he was substituted with six minutes remaining in Tirana.
In fact, the remonstrating started before he trudged off. Bellingham was not happy once he saw Morgan Rogers, his childhood friend, taking off his tracksuit and preparing to come on. Tuchel has pitted players against each other for places in his team, telling Bellingham and Rogers they are direct rivals for the No 10 role.
So with Rogers waiting in the wings, Bellingham knew it would be him coming off. And he clearly was not happy about it. The Real Madrid midfielder celebrated England’s second goal, created by Marcus Rashford and scored by Harry Kane.
But Bellingham kept glancing over to the bench, with his body language telling everybody: ‘why am I being taken off?’
It made little difference. As Tuchel said: “We will not change our decision because someone is waving their arms.”
Tuchel has a unique case in Bellingham and needs to get it right before next year’s tournament in North America. As he showed in Tirana, Bellingham can be his best individual player. He was box-to-box at the Air Albania Arena, driving his team-mates forward and helping them defensively.
Kane is a different type of match-winner to Bellingham. While he scores the goals, he is also a selfless footballer. The highlights reel will not show the number of clearances Kane headed away, or how he dropped into midfield to get on the ball.
Bellingham has to be handled by Tuchel in a different way. He is an egocentric footballer but that is part of what makes him a match-winner for England. “Who else?” as he yelled when he scored against Slovakia at last year’s European Championship, saving England’s skin.
It is a healthy arrogance that makes games all about him. In a dead-rubber, he was fired up like it was a cup final. Perhaps he was playing with a point to prove after being on the bench against Serbia last week, and left out altogether in October as he was only just coming back from injury.
Within 10 minutes he was involved in some shoving with Myrto Uzuni off the ball. He is the type of player to create aggravation to get himself going. When he lost the ball to Armando Broja, he chased the Burnley forward and brought him down, earning a yellow card.
Tuchel was protecting Bellingham from a red card that would have seen him suspended for the start of the World Cup but Bellingham was not happy with getting taken off. The Real Madrid man will, as Tuchel said, “have to accept it”.
And while Tuchel insisted last week that Bellingham, Kane and Phil Foden could not play in the same team, he went back on that theory by playing them together in the second half with the trio looking dangerous.
“I thought about this when we made the substitution,” said Tuchel. “Because first of all, it was a very offensive substitution, so we played with two number 10s, and real number 10s in the second half; I wanted to give the signal to the team to keep on pushing towards goal with an offensive substitution, and the defensive structure today did not demand two number sixes, the defensive structure was almost a man-man.”
So they can play together, with Bellingham as one of two No 10s. But it will be Bellingham, who else, who fits into any system Tuchel goes for. It will be down to the German to get the best out of him.