Tuchel insists he and Bellingham are 'closer than ever' after public spat at World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has dismissed suggestions of a falling-out with Jude Bellingham, insisting the England camp is united ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina after the pair’s public disagreement was seized on by the media.

The tension surfaced after England’s 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway on Saturday, in which Bellingham scored twice to take his tournament tally to six goals. Tuchel said he was “not happy with the performance”, but when a television interviewer put that criticism to Bellingham — without including the accompanying praise — the Real Madrid midfielder pushed back, questioning whether his manager truly understood what it was like to play in those conditions against opponents of Erling Haaland’s calibre.

Tuchel addressed the episode directly, placing the blame squarely on the framing of the question rather than on any genuine discord between the two. “I wonder who blows these things up, eh? If it’s blown up, it’s blown up in the media, of course,” he said. “What do you expect of a player that just played 120 minutes and gave literally everything if you shorten the comment of his coach, if you don’t tell him that ‘he was world class’? If you just cut all this and tell him ‘oh, your coach said you were sloppy’, what do you expect?”

The England head coach said he spoke to the squad the following day to clear the air and is adamant there are no underlying issues. “The question was unfair in this moment towards Jude because he cut all the compliments out of my assessment and just asked about the critical points — so I can understand,” Tuchel added. “We’re as close as ever, and close more than ever before. You can see that on the field.”

Bellingham’s pointed remark about Tuchel not knowing “what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions” drew attention to the coach’s modest playing career, something Tuchel acknowledged without embarrassment. “I had a mediocre career at best,” he said, though he rejected any suggestion it undermines his authority as a coach.

The episode echoes an earlier friction between the pair: Tuchel apologised last summer after admitting his mother found some of Bellingham’s on-field behaviour “repulsive”. That the relationship has survived a second public flashpoint — and that Bellingham has been one of England’s standout performers throughout the tournament — suggests the dynamic, however combustible at times, remains productive.

England face Argentina in the semi-final on Wednesday, with Tuchel describing the mood in camp as “excellent” in the build-up.