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England’s victory over Norway did not come without post-match controversy for the Three Lions.
Star midfielder Jude Bellingham scored twice to give England a 2-1 victory in extra time, which sent them to the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in their history. After the match, during an on-field interview, coach Thomas Tuchel stressed that his team could have been much better.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” Tuchel said in a post-match interview on FOX Sports. “The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It’s incredible, but I’m not satisfied with the performance… in every sense of the word.”
Bellingham, who scored both of England’s goals to take his tally to six for the tournament, appeared to disagree with his coach’s criticism after England gained the upper hand in the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at the start of warm-ups.
“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head. “It’s tough out there. It’s a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation go out to the players who made a great shift.”
“I think it would probably take you a little bit by surprise,” former World Cup defender Walk Zimmerman told us of the comments and Bellingham’s response. “That’s the kind of thing that I think would work at a club level when you’re playing one game after another. For a knockout tournament, I think the most important thing is that you can say we didn’t play well, and then you immediately recognize, ‘We won, we’re moving on. We’re going to enjoy today and see what we can do better.'”
Former U.S. men’s national team coach and FOX Sports analyst Bob Bradley downplayed the impact of Tuchel’s comments, which struck a chord with Bellingham.
“I don’t think it’s anything,” Bradley said, calling his comments “post-game emotions.”
“Tuchel, like many of us, is never satisfied and always demanding,” Bradley told us. “Bellingham represents the players and the effort against a good team.”
Tuchel made it clear in his press conference that he was “proud and happy” with the way his team overcame adversity, but added: “I am also a football coach and I also have demands. … I think we can play faster. I think we can play more clinically.”
Bellingham added: “The game is divided into many different facets. Some of them are technical, tactical. For me the biggest one is psychological and how to deal with setbacks, how to deal with adversity. This team has shown once again that they can do that, and that’s a really valuable skill and trait to have.”
Former US national team midfielder and FOX Sports analyst Sacha Kljestan believes the comments will not affect England ahead of a semi-final against defending champions Argentina.
“I don’t think it’s very serious,” Kljestan told us. “He was clearly exhausted after putting in a huge effort. Maybe after watching the match he will see that England were a bit careless that day. He has the right to say what he said, and I don’t think it should be a big thing.”
“At the end of the day, I think it’s not a story, honestly,” Zimmerman added. “It’s going to be just fine in the locker room. Neither of them will think twice about it.”
Next up for England is a semifinal against Argentina on Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta (3 p.m. ET on FOX and streaming on FOX One).
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