Thomas Tuchel has criticised ITV over what he called an 'unfair question' put to Jude Bellingham after England's 2-1 World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway. The German manager, 52, slammed the interview in which the broadcaster's Gabriel Clarke questioned the former Birmingham City star about Tuchel's assessment of his performance.
Tuchel's Post-Match Comments Spark Controversy
In the wake of the win, where Real Madrid star Bellingham scored a brace, Tuchel initially said he was 'not very happy' with his players. When Clarke relayed this to Bellingham, the midfielder responded: 'Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever. It's difficult out there. It's a tough shift.'
Speaking to talkSPORT, Tuchel explained his frustration: '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 don't tell him, 'He has world class actions'?'
Tuchel Defends Bellingham and Team Unity
'If you just cut all this and tell him, 'Oh, your coach said you were sloppy', what do you expect?' Tuchel continued. 'Yeah, of course you get the comment that you get and then you try to blow it up and people try to create misunderstandings and cracks where no cracks are.'
The England manager emphasised the strong bond within the squad: 'We come from the same place, we come from being competitive. I am a competitive coach. I push this team to the limit and that was my assessment. I think the question was unfair in this moment to Jude because he cut all the compliments out of my assessment and just asked about the critical points, so I can understand.'
England Ready for Argentina Semi-Final
Tuchel dismissed any notion of discord, stating: 'What do you expect of a player that just gave everything and stands there in front of a microphone in a flash interview? It's just what it is but we're as close as ever, and close more than ever before. You can see that on the field. The energy and mentality in camp is excellent in the last days and we are ready to go for it tomorrow.'
England now face Argentina in the semi-final, with Tuchel confirming the team's focus remains on the upcoming challenge.
