Here's the message Thomas Tuchel was sending when he said England were lucky to beat Norway

England boss Thomas Tuchel was critical of his team when interviewed by ITV immediately after the nervy World Cup quarter-final win over Norway, balancing praise for his players with a reality check by saying they were lucky to emerge victorious. When asked about the comments later, Jude Bellingham - whose two goals had secured the semi-final spot against Argentina - did not appear impressed. Here's what was said - and Daily Mail Sport's verdict on what it all meant...

THOMAS TUCHEL

Q: You’ve talked about your team suffering before. What do you think the team found today?

A: ‘I didn’t talk about suffering. I never talked about suffering. We made life very difficult for ourselves today. The result is amazing. But not happy with the performance.’

Q: In what sense?

A: ‘In every sense. Again the commitment is there, but we made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.’

Verdict: This drills down into Tuchel’s character and shows that he is a complete perfectionist. In his mind, England should not only win these games but absolutely dominate them.

The reality of that in the humidity of Miami is somewhat different to the perfect ideal – the Premier League team, as he has wanted to mould over 18 months. England were never going to be full throttle for extended periods.

Tuchel knows that and will have adapted tactically, the messaging different to his players beforehand. His disappointment derives from an inability to take charge of possession, to work Norway over in a way that grinds an opponent down.

England lost their impetus and patience after the first hydration break and ended up with 52 per cent of the ball, having enjoyed the vast majority of it in the opening quarter of the game. There was an erosion of control over time and that saw them drop deeper as the game wore on, Tuchel also agitated by loosely giving Alexander Sorloth a super chance to double Norway’s lead before the break.

Q: Did the occasion get to the players? Is it about mentality?

A: ‘This is pure mentality. How can you ask about mentality now? This is pure mentality. This is not a mentality problem, this is pure mentality. You can bottle it up and sell it. It is about mentality. It is a quality of our game. Nothing to do with mentality.’

Verdict: Tuchel is always on the front foot when it comes to backing the fortitude of his players and recognised the shift they all put in for the cause – especially given the weather conditions in Florida. Crucially, he made sure to balance the good with the bad.

His belief around their determination will not waver while coaching this group of players and it was important that the German made sure to praise the main aspect of their game that is dragging them through this World Cup – a quality that has often been in short supply among England teams in the past.

Q: What about the players who came on, then?

A: ‘Reece James was excellent, (Morgan) Rogers was fantastic. Ebs (Eze) grew into the game. Djed (Spence) grew into the game. Full credit to them but overall we got lucky today.’

Q: It is about the squad though. You said it was about the squad?

‘Yeah it is but it’s also about quality. We need to play better.’

Verdict: Hammering home the point about class on the ball. Tuchel is of the mind that England will not win this tournament on mentality alone and has spoken so openly about giving enjoyment to supporters staying up to watch at home and in the pubs. They can’t have enjoyed the quarter-final very much.

There is an identity that he wants to imprint, and he is definitely still searching for the answers on how to squeeze that from them on a consistent basis. The FA and the players were only too aware of the standards and demands that Tuchel places upon himself and those around him before he took the job and so this should not come as a surprise.

Giving the players a jolt is exactly the sort of tactic that a man-manager of his ilk will plan. The very best often go in an entirely different direction to the result in order to lay down a marker. It would have been easy for Tuchel to simply praise the guts and desire without touching on deficiencies but that would betray his players.

JUDE BELLINGHAM

Q: The manager is not very happy. He said he was very disappointed in the performance?

A: ‘Oh well, whatever. Whatever.’

Q: He obviously believes there could be more from the team?

A: ‘Yeah, it’s difficult out there. It is a tough shift, everyone has put in a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who are out there, they have put in a great shift yet again.’

Verdict: Bellingham has just come off the pitch, named player of the match after another brace. Emotions are running high, especially after securing a major achievement. He’d also had to curb his natural instincts all game, one booking away from a suspension and missing the semi-final. Plenty had been bottled up before standing in front of the camera.

He is not one to mince his words or conceal thoughts, Bellingham, and could easily have taken Tuchel’s reference of ‘performance’ as all-encompassing, rather than specifically about their play on the ball.

Bellingham was required to perform more media duties shortly after and faced further questions on his manager’s critique. He is likely to have had more time to digest exactly what Tuchel had said by this point.

Q: Thomas was quite critical of the performance after the game. Does that show the standards that he expects and maybe that there is more to come?

A: ‘Maybe, but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa, Sorloth. That's not an easy team to play against. 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. You're not going to win every game, popping the ball and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we've done that again tonight.’

Verdict: These are comments of a future captain and should not be discouraged – within reason. Bellingham is sticking up for his team-mates, although did so while making vague reference to Tuchel’s modest playing career.

It’s a more thoughtful response and one used to send a message to his manager that the psychological qualities on show outweighed any tactical issues. If you’re not going to be good, then at least work hard and graft. In a way, they’re actually on the same page.

Tuchel is allowed to send messages via these commitments and so there should be nothing to stop senior players either. Bellingham was asked another very similar question by a different outlet and chose to say ‘no comment’, shaking his head as he walked off.

There will ultimately have been an element of exhaustion taking over during his answers, playing 120 minutes in sweltering heat and chasing the ball for long periods.

The pair had celebrated with each other on the pitch at the end, before Wonderwall, and the emotion of the occasion will have been a factor when met with microphones.

HARRY KANE

Q: You’re through to the semi-final of the World Cup and the manager isn’t happy. Is that actually a good sign?

A: ‘It’s a positive. To get to the semi-final and still know there is a level we haven’t quite reached with the ball. Without the ball the lads were outstanding. The desire, work rate, the main ingredients of being a team we have shown. But yeah, the boss gets us frustrated when he sees us train, the ability in the final third and amazing plays and we haven’t quite shown that at this World Cup for a full 90 minutes. That is what he is pushing for. If we can find that this week, find it Wednesday, then that can be the difference between winning and losing this trophy.’

Q: How do you do that?

A: ‘Keep up with the messaging. We have to enjoy we’re in a semi final. It’s been a long hard six weeks. Hopefully these big games will help free us up a bit more but it’s easier said than done. If we can find another 10 per cent with the ball then we can be really dangerous.’

Verdict: The England captain strikes the balance between the two other relevant parties. With his unique brand of diplomacy, Kane agrees with both Tuchel and Bellingham in two answers.

Clearly the main protagonists, Bellingham included, realise that these have not been six vintage matches in North America – and some of that frustration appeared to come through during the match winner’s interviews. Deep down, he will accept there is some truth in what Tuchel says.

Tuchel is no stranger to a frank exchange of views inside the dressing room and this is exactly the sort of back and forth big characters would usually have behind closed doors. For it to play out in public did feel somewhat strange but it is exactly the sort of incident that could galvanise a group going into Wednesday’s mouthwatering date with Lionel Messi and Argentina.