After England's victory over Norway, there may be two different views on the statements of Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham.
On the one hand, Bellingham's comments may be seen as not being timely, especially when England is preparing to enter the semi-finals with Argentina. This is the time when the team needs absolute solidarity, and Bellingham's statement after the final whistle unintentionally raised doubts about the internal atmosphere.
In the opposite direction, if viewed from Tuchel's perspective, this may just be a positive tension, enough to create motivation to help the team move forward.
To better understand the story, it is necessary to look back at what has happened.
After the 2-1 comeback victory against Norway, Tuchel praised the fighting spirit of his students, but at the same time frankly pointed out professional limitations.
It's great, but I'm not satisfied with this performance. We played carelessly, made many technical mistakes, lacked speed and stability. Today we were lucky" - the German strategist said.
Immediately after that, when asked about the head coach's comments, Bellingham replied briefly, but body language showed that he was not really in agreement.
Maybe... but maybe he doesn't know the feeling of playing in such conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa or Alexander Sorloth" - Bellingham replied.
However, Bellingham still acknowledged his teammates: "Everyone has dedicated themselves. I want to send my thanks and respect to those who have taken the field and had a great performance.
The public response between the two teachers and students quickly created a series of negative headlines. Many people around the England team admitted they were "surprised" by this development.
According to them, it is not necessary to put Bellingham in a situation where he has to react like that. Some opinions even suggest that the Real Madrid midfielder's answer unintentionally touched Tuchel's not-so-prominent player career, which is considered a rather sensitive topic for the German coach. In the past, he also had tense relationships with some important figures at Bayern Munich.
However, there is also a different view of this controversy.
Many people believe that this is actually the type of relationship that Tuchel actively builds with his number one star. He constantly creates challenges to promote Bellingham to develop and maximize his potential.
If Bellingham is praised for his ability to decide matches, then Tuchel also deserves praise for his way of exploiting players. He did the same with Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain, helping the Brazilian star spend the 2019-2020 season considered the most successful since 2015.
The strong decision in October last year, when Tuchel removed Bellingham from the squad, is now seen as a calculated step. That move forces this midfielder to look back at himself and understand the requirements for himself in the England national team jersey.
In fact, Bellingham has matured a lot compared to EURO 2024. Even the decision to remove Cole Palmer, Morgan Gibbs-White and Phil Foden from the squad is also considered part of that plan.
The message is very clear: Bellingham is the center of the England team. Tuchel does not want any ambiguity about his role. It is hard to believe that before the World Cup there were debates that Morgan Rogers could compete for a position with the Real Madrid star.
Tuchel has identified Bellingham as the core of the team since before the tournament started. Morgan Rogers' impressive form helps England have more options, and Tuchel highly appreciates this player's ability to connect the playing style.
However, his long-term goal is still to perfect Bellingham, helping this midfielder overcome weaknesses and maximize potential, just like what he did with Neymar. Therefore, the post-match response surprised many people.
Maybe it's just the confidence of a player who just had an excellent performance against Norway. And in fact, England at this time depends a lot on Bellingham.
Tuchel wants to build a dressing room where players are ready to exchange directly with the coach. However, this time things did not happen behind the dressing room door. In that situation, Bellingham's statements are easily seen as a challenge to the authority of the head coach.
However, in the end, the person with the decisive voice is still Tuchel. And on the field, England at this time still places the greatest trust in Bellingham.
