Jude Bellingham has to accept Thomas Tuchel’s one non-negotiable to make World Cup | OneFootball

Perhaps a warning to Jude Bellingham came when Thomas Tuchel did not even mention Jude Bellingham. The England manager had been asked about Djed Spence, about the moment when the full-back and his teammate Micky van de Ven had snubbed Thomas Frank when the Tottenham manager was urging them to applaud their fans after the demoralising defeat to Chelsea. It would have been easy for Tuchel to say it was a Tottenham affair or to point out that, unprompted, Spence had gone to Frank to apologise. Instead, he replied: “I didn’t like it.”

His rationale in intervening was to say: “They are always national players and the standard of behaviour is always important.” And so to England’s 2-0 win over Albania, to another reaction that had a touch of petulance, even if it stemmed from disappointment. Bellingham’s number was up and his response incurred Tuchel’s displeasure. “We will not change our decision just because someone is waving their arms,” he said.

open image in gallery

Tuchel said that Bellingham has to accept his substitutions after he was withdrawn against Albania with six minutes left (The FA via Getty Images)

It could have been interpreted as dissent to a manager who had omitted him from the October squad and then only named him a substitute against Serbia on Thursday. Tuchel chose to reference Morgan Rogers, the man waiting to come on. “His friend is waiting on the sideline,” he said, and Bellingham and Rogers genuinely are friends, going back to when the former, playing above his age group, represented Birmingham against a West Bromwich Albion Under-15 side including the current Aston Villa player. In the moment, it is safe to say, Bellingham was not meaning to show any disrespect to a man he has known for years. Most important of all, probably, was Tuchel’s belief in the collective: “we are about commitment to and respect to each other,” he added.

It was a message that Tuchel could have conveyed privately. But he talks of clarity in terms of players’ roles in the squad and, by delivering it publicly, there is clarity about what else he expects from his charges. There is also consistency: after his words about Spence, he did not duck a question about an altogether more high-profile player’s actions on international duty.

And, Bellingham being Bellingham, there is the possibility everything can get overblown or exaggerated. There is no sense that it means, for instance, that Tuchel would not take him to the World Cup: the England manager is a perfectionist who knows the task of winning the tournament would be still harder without the player who finished third in the vote for the Ballon d’Or in 2024.

But Tuchel can talk about levels and standards and behaviour. That, he feels, applies to everyone. He wants Bellingham to channel his drive and will to win; for him, it cannot manifest itself in gestures of frustration to teammates. Given his disciplinary record at Real Madrid, perhaps it would be best if it did not manifest itself in words to referees, either.

Some might see it as taking Bellingham down a peg or two, others simply that Tuchel is trying to make him better by turning his energy into something constructive and that determination to prevail into something that feels more about the team and less about the individual.

open image in gallery

Tuchel has spoken of the importance of an England ‘brotherhood’ and has been consistent in his messaging (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

One interpretation is that Bellingham is no longer afforded preferential treatment. Another is that he never was: he was simply propelled upwards by his talent. When he skippered Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League as a teenager, it was an indication of his precocity.

Gareth Southgate had put Bellingham in the leadership group in Euro 2024. Tuchel sees obvious leaders in Harry Kane, Declan Rice and John Stones, but also trusts in senior professionals such as Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn to set the right example. He has noted how his squad contains several captains at club level: players like Reece James, Marc Guehi and Jarrod Bowen. There are few signs that any have incurred his displeasure; unlike Bellingham.

The nature of international football can sometimes mean that the players seem bigger than the team or the manager. Southgate ranked as England’s most successful coach since Sir Alf Ramsey. But in Tuchel, they have a Champions League-winning manager in charge of Champions League-winning players. They also have a man who is less of a diplomat. Tuchel’s words have not always endeared him to his employers; at Bayern Munich, in particular, he seemed to alienate too many people.

open image in gallery

(Getty Images)

It may be the case that Tuchel will not change, but that he feels Bellingham should. He certainly feels free to carry on criticising. Bellingham’s latest offence was relatively minor, as Tuchel said. It should be no impediment to selection. But Tuchel said that Bellingham has to accept his substitutions with good grace. He also has to accept that he has a manager who will admonish him if he does not.