Jude Bellingham has been warned over his reaction to Thomas Tuchel’s England criticism.
The Three Lions boss admitted he was disappointed by his side’s performance in their World Cup quarter-final win over Norway.
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Bellingham scored twice as England came from behind to win 2-1 after extra-time on Saturday night.
His goals, which have taken his tally for the tournament to six, have set up a semi-final showdown with Argentina.
The two sides will meet in Atlanta on Wednesday, with kick-off at 8pm BST live on eSPORTY.
Either France or Spain await the winner in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Bellingham is England’s ‘James Bond’
Following the win over Norway, Tuchel’s verdict was put to Bellingham during a post-match interview.
In response, he bluntly said: “Yes, well whatever.”
Bellingham added: “It’s difficult out there, it’s difficult, it’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift.
“So my thoughts and appreciation go out to the players out there who put in a great shift again.
“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. So, I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment.
“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.”
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Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew hailed Bellingham’s importance to the team but has his concerns about the 23-year-old’s mindset for the rest of the tournament.
Speaking on The Final Word, the eSPORTY co-host explained: “What really worries me about this whole, just this little thing about the end of the game is Bellingham. Not so much Thomas.
“And the reason I’m saying that is because at the last tournament [Euro 2024], remember, Bellingham started to carry it a little bit, didn’t he?
“He thought that people were having a go at him, that the team weren’t playing well because of him.
“And he’s in such a great place, that I just hope it doesn’t kind of knock him off a little bit because he really is our man. He’s our James Bond.”
Bellingham warning
However, Pardew added that a conversation must be had between Tuchel and Bellingham following the post-match fallout, although a ‘beef’ between player and manager is not something to panic about.
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Pardew continued: “You’re not going to be annoyed with him, but it’s a conversation that you need to have.
“You need to address it in some way. I would address it with some sarcastic remark. Well done, Jude. Nice comments, by the way.
“I think both of them and the emotion of the situation, I thought when the question got put to Jude about what Thomas had said, he genuinely looked shocked, didn’t he? You could see it in his eyes. He didn’t need to say anything.
“You could just look in his face and see he was aggrieved about it.
“But a beef between a player, even a great player and a manager is not a bad thing.
“I don’t think that, even when you win, it’s all happy.
“I’ve been in winning dressing rooms where a top player has had a real go at another player over an incident where he had, he could have passed.
“We could have got another goal for example, or we nearly conceded at the end where we might’ve lost the game.
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“So you’re going to get beefs and that’s good. It builds a relationship because it’s a bit like a relationship you have with your wife or girlfriend.
“You have a beef, but the best bit is the making up bit, isn’t it? That’s the bit that then now you’re, you’re even more together.
“So Jude and Thomas will probably come out of this stronger.”
Bellingham has scored six goals and provided an assist in six matches at this summer’s World Cup.
Those strikes include braces in the knockout stage wins over Mexico and Norway.
Meanwhile, his overall England record now stands at 12 goals in 54 caps since making his debut aged 17 in 2020.
