'Maybe he doesn't know what it takes': Bellingham takes aim at Tuchel after criticism of 'lucky' England
Tuchel praised "fantastic" result but admitted he was "not happy" with England's play
Jude Bellingham has hit back at Thomas Tuchel's criticism of England's "sloppy" performance during its match against Norway, suggesting the England manager "doesn’t know what it takes".
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Speaking after England's 2-1 victory over Norway in Miami on Saturday night, Tuchel said he was "not happy" with the Three Lions' performance.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves,” he told reporters. “The result is fantastic, but I’m not happy with the way we played.”
Clarifying what he meant, the England manager said there was "not enough precision, not enough repetitions, lots of technical mistakes. We were lucky today.”
Presented with Tuchel's criticism, Bellingham - who paved England's way to the semi-finals after scoring twice, including a stunning extra-time goal - rolled his eyes and said: "Whatever".
Read more: Brilliant Bellingham fires England into World Cup semi-finals after tense 2-1 win over Norway
Asked after the game for his response to Tuchel's remarks, Bellingham highlighted the 34C heat endured by players on the pitch.
The 23-year-old midfielder - who is already being spoken of as England's greatest player ever - snapped: “It is difficult out there. It was a tough shift.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it takes to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Nusa, Sorloth, that’s not an easy team to play against,” he added.
“I think we have tried to create a positive environment we should continue that into the final four.
“I can’t think highly enough of the lads. You’re not going to win every game popping a thousand passes, sometimes you have to win dirty.”
It's not the first time the two have locked horns.
Tuchel previously apologised for describing Bellingham as "repulsive".
He then left the player out of his initial Three Lions squad last October, casting doubt over whether Bellingham would appear in the World Cup.
It comes after football pundit Gary Lineker speculated that Bellingham could be the country’s “greatest ever” footballer.
The Real Madrid midfielder scored twice – the first player to do so in consecutive knockout stage games at a single World Cup since Diego Maradona in 1986 – in the 2-1 win over Norway which set up a semi-final against Argentina.
Nine of Bellingham’s 12 England goals have been at major tournaments and his six goals in the tournament put him with alongside Lineker (1986) and Harry Kane (2018, 2026) as the only England players to score at least five at a single World Cup.
“I would go as far as to say I think there’s a chance that I think he could well be, or end up being, England’s greatest ever footballer. And that is a big shout,” Lineker told a podcast.