Topics: Jude Bellingham, Thomas Tuchel, England, Football, Real Madrid
A well-respected journalist has shed light on what happened before Jude Bellingham was substituted ahead of his row with England boss Thomas Tuchel.
England finished their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a 2-0 win against Albania thanks to a Harry Kane brace.
The victory was the Three Lions’ ninth in 10 matches since Tuchel took the head coach’s role in the autumn of 2024. Across the ten fixtures, England scored 26 goals while only conceding three.
Of course, tougher tests are to come in next summer’s World Cup, which is now just 206 days away, but the feeling around the camp is one of positivity.
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However, there was one negative from the win in Tirana.
On the 84-minute mark, Bellingham was withdrawn before being replaced by Aston Villa man Morgan Rogers.
And the Real Madrid man appeared visibly annoyed by his manager’s decision while gesticulating with his arms that he did not approve of the decision.
Following the incident, Tuchel said that he “will review” Bellingham’s reaction before claiming that “behaviour is key”.
"Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player,” Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Morgan Rogers was for sure not happy when he couldn't start today because he deserves to play for us, and he wants to play all the time. We gave him a bit of a rest because he came with a lot of minutes for his club and played against Serbia."
Despite his reaction, Bellingham impressed with his performance in Albania and earned the Player of the Match award.
A reporter has since revealed what he spotted in the build-up to the disagreement that the TV cameras missed.
The Mail’s Craig Hope wrote: “Arms raised and eyeballs locked on his head coach, he [Bellingham] was making it known he was not impressed at the sight of Morgan Rogers stripped on the touchline.
“What made it was worse was that England had just celebrated Harry Kane's second goal - Bellingham should have been taken by the collective joy, not soured by his own sense of grievance and importance. His complaint, in fact, had started in the seconds before Kane scored and continued after.”
And this was not the first time that Tuchel and Bellingham have not seen eye-to-eye.
After England’s 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal in June, the German admitted that his own mother at times views the midfielder’s behaviour as “repulsive”.
The 52-year-old later made it clear that he used the word “unintentionally”.
Then, in October, Bellingham was omitted from the Three Lions squad for the fixtures against Latvia and Wales – although he had been recovering from a shoulder operation.
Bellingham will likely be on the plane to North America next summer, but it is unclear whether he’ll start ahead of the likes of Phil Foden and Rogers. Tuchel has already said that Foden, Bellingham, and Kane cannot start in the same XI.
