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Thomas Tuchel believes Jude Bellingham tried to do too much at Euro 2024 and must save his energy for key moments by being more disciplined. England’s new head coach has been honest about where his side can improve and he clearly is not afraid to follow the same path with Bellingham.
The Real Madrid midfielder produced some scintillating moments at the Euros – not least when he saved England from defeat against Slovakia in the last 16 by equalising in stoppage time with an overhead kick – but some of his performances did not meet expectations. Operating mainly as a No 10, Bellingham struggled to connect with Harry Kane and sometimes looked to go it alone.
The talent is vast. Bellingham had a key role as England began their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Albania on Friday, conjuring a fine assist for Myles Lewis-Skelly’s opening goal, and he went close to scoring. Tuchel, though, talked about finding the right system for Bellingham and was open when asked if the 21-year-old was too individualistic last summer.
“Yes,” Tuchel said. “He is always ready to give everything but we need to help him so that within a structure he can play more economically and still have the same impact, or maybe even more impact.
“We need to make sure that the leaders, and he is one of the leaders, and the main players, walk in the same direction and play in the same rhythm and help each other out. And play a little more disciplined maybe, to save some energy for the decisive moments.”
Tuchel was still effusive in his praise for Bellingham, saying it is a pleasure to work with him and describing the youngster as a team player who is “always able to make the difference”. He has already noticed, too, that he is one of the most vocal players on the pitch, both with teammates and officials.
“He loves to talk to the referee and the linesmen,” Tuchel said. “He’s a very emotional player once he’s on the pitch and you just see that he hates to lose and does everything that it takes. He expresses himself.
“You see the hunger and the desire to win. I think he will keep this hunger and learn to channel the emotions a little bit. That’s never a problem. It’s good to have him as he is. We will try to make the most out of it because he is a key player.”
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Tuchel has spoken about England playing with fear at the Euros and he wondered why, in his first game in charge since replacing Gareth Southgate, they lost their structure in the second half. He was critical of his starting wingers, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden, and is likely to make changes when Latvia visit Wembley tomorrow. The Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon is being monitored after suffering a hip injury in the second half.
“I’m not so sure why we struggled to have more impact with the wingers,” Tuchel said. “Why it was so difficult to find them in open spaces or deliver quicker to them. Or why they relied also heavily on passing and did not have enough dribbling or penetration without the ball. In general, we struggled to dare to take the risk.”
Tuchel, who suggested that he does not mind winning ugly, is also learning about his new environment. “I have to adapt to the rhythm of international football,” he said. “Of course, the challenge is to prepare in three days, with 20 players from I don’t know, 10 or 12 clubs, one idea of football. I’m not the most patient guy in the world when it comes to that, but I will learn and push the players.”
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