England head coach Thomas Tuchel has insisted that Jude Bellingham must respect his decisions after the midfielder showed visible frustration when he was substituted during Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Albania.
The Real Madrid midfielder was replaced by Morgan Rogers in the 84th minute of the Three Lions final group qualifying match and appeared to throw his arms in the air at the decision.
The 22-year-old also missed last month’s qualifiers and only came on in the 65th minute of last Thursday’s win over Serbia.
“That’s the decision, and he has to accept the decision. His friend is waiting on the sideline, so you need to accept it, respect it, and keep on going”, Thomas Tuchel said after the game.
“I didn’t see it that way, I’m going to have to review it. I saw that he was not happy and I don’t want to make it bigger at the moment than it is.”
England made history with their qualification campaign, by becoming the first European nation to complete the series and win all their matches without conceding.
The Three Lions won all their eight games, scoring 22 times without conceding, including twice on Sunday.
Record scorer Harry Kane continued his fine form this season with a brace on the record breaking night.
The Bayern Munich striker opened scoring in the 74th minute and doubled his tally in the 82nd minute following a wicked cross by Marcus Rashford.
“I think to a certain degree if you have players like Jude, who are so competitive, they will never like it, but, as you said, my word stands”, he continued.
“It is about standards and level, and it’s a commitment to and respect to each other, so someone is waiting outside, and we will not change our decision just because someone is waving their arms.”
England will find out their opponents for the 2026 FIFA World Cup when the draw takes place on the 5th of December.
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