Inside Thomas Tuchel’s relationship with Jude Bellingham at the heart of England’s World Cup | OneFootball

After two different perspectives on the Norway game, you could have two different perspectives on this split.

On one hand, Jude Bellingham’s comments might be especially bad timing ahead of what is certain to be an emotionally intense game against Argentina. England are going to have to be all in together, and the spikiness of the match-winner’s post-game interviews needlessly risks that.

Depending on his mood, though, Thomas Tuchel might describe it as a healthy and creative tension.

Given all that emotion, it is at least worth laying out the details.

Tuchel had praised the mentality of his players in the arduous 2-1 comeback against Norway, but criticised the performance in fairly deep technical detail for such a short interview.

“It’s amazing but I’m not happy with the performance,” the German said. “In every sense. Again the commitment is there but we made life very very difficult for ourselves in the way we played, how we played: sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”

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England’s Jude Bellingham greets manager Thomas Tuchel as he is substituted off (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

When this was put to Bellingham immediately afterwards, England’s star was curt, but his body language said even more.

“Maybe... but maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kinds of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sorloth.”

In another interview, he added: “Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift.”

Bellingham then praised the players on the pitch.

“All the players have put in a tough shift, so my thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who were out there and put in a great shift yet again.”

The nature of the public disagreement, albeit largely through the prism of ITV’s Gabriel Clarke, could bring a lot of negative headlines. It has already brought a lot of surprise from those around the group. More than a few were declaring themselves “shocked”.

They didn’t feel there was any need for Bellingham to react, and there’s even the inferred dismissal of Tuchel’s playing career, which can be a sore point for some coaches. There have been hints of it in the manager’s past, especially in his relationship around some of the big Bayern Munich figures.

Talk could rise of the famous “brotherhood” being broken, of a split at the top.

There’s then the intensity of Argentina weighing over everything.

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Jude Bellingham was England’s match-winner in Miami (Getty)

Another view is that this is actually the type of relationship that Tuchel has cultivated with his star, a push and pull that has gradually cajoled Bellingham into better and better performances.

And if the player’s brilliance is now rightly being praised, as he takes matters – and matches – into his own hands, so should Tuchel’s emotional intelligence. He did similar with Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, drawing out the Brazil’s best season, in 2019-20, since 2015.

The initial hard line in October, when the manager outright dropped Bellingham, is now seen as a masterstroke.

It forced the player himself to face up to his own approach, as well as what was actually expected of him in an England squad.

Bellingham was seen as having “matured”, cutting a different figure to Euro 2024.

Even the much-debated omissions of Cole Palmer, Morgan Gibbs-White and Phil Foden are being viewed in that context.

They assured Bellingham that he is the man, creating no confusion about his status. It’s remarkable to think now that there had initially been debate over whether it would be the Real Madrid star or an admittedly effective Morgan Rogers.

Tuchel had made his mind up before the World Cup.

Rogers’s fine form in the autumn helped, and Tuchel did greatly appreciate the way he made the team flow.

The long-term goal, however, was always to hone Bellingham; to remove the edges; to ensure England got the absolute best out of him – exactly as Tuchel had done with Neymar.

That is why this apparent regression in their relationship has surprised people.

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Bellingham takes instructions from his manager during the game (Getty)

Maybe it’s the bullishness that comes with certain competitors when they feel untouchable, like after a performance such as Bellingham’s against Norway. And the truth is that England badly need him.

Issues are again mounting for Tuchel, even as he passes more and more obstacles. Harry Kane, previously even more influential than Bellingham, looked leaden here for the first time, He was one of a few. Declan Rice’s fitness is a worry, especially with how crucial he is to the structure of the team, and how this match illustrated England have so few options without him.

Tuchel, remarkably, doesn’t seem to trust Kobbie Mainoo. This game only emphasised Reece James isn’t yet up to speed. It is like that across the defence, where Marc Guehi and John Stones looked short of their physical peak.

Bukayo Saka’s stop-start season meanwhile ensures he can only perform in flashes.

This remains a distinctly dysfunctional team for one who can rightly consider themselves one of the best four in the world, as much as just semi-finalists, but they can call themselves the latter because of one player: Bellingham.

Tuchel, for his part, may even appreciate it as much as his goals. The German is himself a captivating character because of how unfiltered he is in just speaking his mind, as he’s illustrated about Bellingham himself, so it’s possible he feels exactly the same way about the player.

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Tuchel and Bellingham embrace after the final whistle in Miami (Getty)

Tuchel likes dressing rooms with strong voices and personality, where his squad are willing to talk to him.

But this wasn’t the dressing room. It was in public, and would normally have represented a challenge to authority. And that in a tactically fractured team.

Ultimately, though, only the opinion of one man matters: that is Tuchel.

Right now, however, only one player really matters for England: that’s Bellingham.