‘Maybe he doesn’t know’: Jude Bellingham responds after Tuchel labels England ‘sloppy’ in World Cup win

England midfielder Jude Bellingham defended his side’s performance after head coach Thomas Tuchel criticised the Three Lions despite their 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway, insisting knockout football is not always about playing attractive football.

Asked about Tuchel’s assessment after the match, Bellingham pointed to the quality of Norway’s squad and the challenging conditions, suggesting the performance deserved greater appreciation.

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“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 and Alexander Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against,” Bellingham told the BBC.

The midfielder, who scored both England goals, said the team’s resilience was just as important as its style of play.

“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 around and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight.”

Bellingham also underlined the importance of England’s mentality as they prepare for the business end of the tournament.

“I think the game is split into loads of different facets. Some of it’s technical, tactical, and for me the biggest one is psychological: how you manage setbacks and adversity.

“This team showed yet again that they can do it, and that’s a really valuable trait to have going into this stage of the tournament.”

England had to come from behind after Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute. Bellingham restored parity in first-half stoppage time before reacting quickest to convert the rebound from Morgan Rogers’ shot three minutes into extra time, completing the comeback and booking England’s place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals, where they will face defending champions Argentina.

What did Thomas Tuchel say?

Despite the result, Tuchel admitted he was disappointed with England’s overall display, saying his players made the contest unnecessarily difficult.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” Tuchel told ITV Sport.

“The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four. It’s amazing. I’m not happy with the performance. In every sense. The commitment is there, but we made life very, very difficult for ourselves in the way we played.

“Sloppy, tactical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky enough. We will get better, we need to get better.”

England captain Harry Kane backed his manager’s honest assessment, saying the squad knows there is another level to reach despite advancing.

“He congratulated everyone in the dressing room and told us to enjoy the moment, but he also knows we can do better. If we’re in the semi-finals of a World Cup and still believe we have another level to find, that’s a positive,” Kane said.