Jude Bellingham: Thomas Tuchel praises England midfielder's buy-in at World Cup after back-to-back man of the match performances
Thomas Tuchel on England midfielder Jude Bellingham after back-to-back man of the match performances: "I'm not sure if it's a reaction but it is what we want from him. He is fully into all the things from him as a team player, and he brings his individual quality to decide football games"
Sunday 28 June 2026 20:24, UK
Thomas Tuchel praised Jude Bellingham's buy-in to the team ethic after another man-of-the-match performance from the 22-year-old drove England through to the knockout stages of the World Cup.
The head coach has consistently called on Bellingham to adapt the way he plays for Real Madrid when in an England shirt, and he is convinced the midfielder is a more potent force now because of it.
"We have to work in patterns and we have to work in units for the amount of attacking threat," Tuchel explained.
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"If we all just play in freestyle no one knows what the other one is thinking. If we are in units I feel we get the understanding better and better, and Jude is a part of it because it is not only about the pattern, it is about the quality in the pattern."
Bellingham has been man-of-the-match twice in England's opening three World Cup games. He has scored two of England's six goals so far, and also contributed an assist, meaning he has been directly involved in 50 per cent of their goals at the tournament.
But against Panama, he was also the most important player when England didn't have the ball, winning more tackles (4) and more duels (11) than anyone else on the pitch.
"I'm not sure if it's a reaction but it is what we want from him," said Tuchel. "He has been very positive from the first day in camp. He is fully into all the things from him as a team player, and he brings his individual quality to decide football games.
"That is what you see in World Cups now and what you see from other teams and other big players. He is a key player. And he buys into all the things that we demand of him as a team player. Well done until now. He needs to keep on going."
Bellingham is one of only three England players who have scored so far in the World Cup. Marcus Rashford has one goal, and Harry Kane has three - becoming England's all-time leading World Cup goalscorer. But Tuchel is not worried about what others see as an over-reliance on Kane and Bellingham.
"We want these guys in the key moment and show up. I am convinced that Nico O'Reilly almost did it against Ghana, Harry did it, Jude did it, and I'm sure Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Noni [Madueke] and Bukayo [Saka] will do it when the time is there, and we need that."
