Bellingham hits back at Tuchel, tensions simmer in England dressing room

According to Portuguese newspaper Record, Jude Bellingham responded to Thomas Tuchel's criticism after England came from behind to beat Norway 2-1.

Bellingham did not brush off Thomas Tuchel's criticism. After scoring a brace to help England stage a 2-1 comeback against Norway in extra time, the midfielder hit back at the manager, defended his teammates' performances, and revealed underlying tensions within England's dressing room.

These remarks came shortly after England secured victory and qualified for the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup. When asked about Thomas Tuchel's claim that England had put in a subpar performance, Bellingham gave a blunt reply.

Bellingham said: "Maybe so. Or maybe he does not know what it is like to play under these circumstances against players such as Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa and Solbakken. This is not an easy team to play against. We work hard to build a positive atmosphere, and we need to keep that going in the semi-final."

The Real Madrid midfielder scored twice to complete England's turnaround. He also took time to praise his teammates and downplay external criticism over the side's gameplay quality. Bellingham stated: "I cannot praise my teammates enough. You cannot always win by completing a thousand passes or holding possession nonstop. Sometimes we have to win in less aesthetically pleasing ways, and that is exactly what we did in this game."

Bellingham's comments were a response to Thomas Tuchel's harsh post-match assessment. Tuchel said: "The result is great, we are through to the semi-finals, yet I am not satisfied with the performance. The team put in effort, but our style of play made things extremely difficult for ourselves. We were sloppy, made tactical errors, lacked pace and consistency. We got lucky."