Manager Thomas Tuchel says Jude Bellingham needs to “come to terms” with his decision after the England midfielder expressed displeasure at being substituted during the 2-0 win over Albania.
Harry Kane’s second-half double secured a 2-0 victory in Tirana, as the Euro 2024 runners-up completed a perfect Group K season with their eighth win and eighth clean sheet.
Bellingham made seven changes for Thursday’s win over Serbia and was sent off six minutes into his first start for England since June. He was also named Player of the Match, as voted for by England fans.
The 22-year-old raised his arms in frustration as he looked at Morgan Rodgers, who was waiting to replace him on the touchline, shortly after Kane headed home his second goal.
Asked about his reaction to Bellingham’s substitution, Tuchel said: “It’s a decision and he has to accept it.
Jude Bellingham came on as a substitute in England’s 2-0 win over Albania.
“His friends are waiting on the sidelines. Accept that, respect that and keep going.”
Asked if this reaction went against the attitude he is trying to instill in his squad ahead of next summer’s World Cup, Tuchel added: “I didn’t think so.”
“It needs to be reviewed, but I could tell he wasn’t happy with it. I don’t think he wants to make it any bigger than it is at the moment. A player like Jude is very competitive and will never like it.”
“My word stands. It’s about standards and levels. It’s about commitment and respect for each other. We’re not going to change our decisions just because someone waves their arm.”
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England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed his thoughts after qualifying for the World Cup with a perfect record of eight wins from eight games.
“Bellingham’s actions dominate headlines again”
Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett in Tirana:
“He’s one of the best players in world football, one of the biggest stars in world football. After the game, we saw him being thoroughly mopped up by Albanian fans and Albanian reporters asking for selfies.
“By his own very high standards, I don’t think he was great tonight. I think the many changes that Tuchel has made have created some difficulties in coordinating with the players, but you can forget all that because the headlines are again about how he behaved on the pitch.”
Jude Bellingham and Arbor Hoxha compete for the ball.
“There was a suggestion to Thomas Tuchel in the press conference that Jude Bellingham didn’t celebrate that second goal, and Tuchel was asked about that and said he needed to look at it.
“The truth of the matter is that we have checked and it appears that Jude Bellingham celebrated with his teammates.
“He went up to Marcus Rashford to congratulate him on his brilliant cross that hit Harry Kane’s head, and then the captain went to congratulate him, but at that moment he turned around and realized he had moved up the table and was going to be replaced by Morgan Rodgers.”
Harry Kane celebrates scoring England’s second goal against Albania with teammate Jude Bellingham
“At that point, Jude Bellingham threw his arms in the air in frustration and was clearly very unhappy about being substituted. But as he left the pitch, he shook hands with Thomas Tuchel and Tuchel slapped him on the butt.”
“From a player and manager perspective, I don’t think there’s going to be any lasting damage, but if you put this into context, Tuchel talks a lot about the collective, the importance of being a team player, the importance of bonding within the group, and it’s going to be another question mark for Jude Bellingham’s critics to say, ‘Is he really that team player? Does he really understand the ethos of the team?’
“Those who were rooting for Bellingham will say he was just celebrating the goal with his teammates and then turned around to see him go off.
“If it had happened maybe 10 minutes later, at a key moment in the game, he probably wouldn’t have reacted the way he did. There’s disagreement about Jude Bellingham.”
