🔗 Share this article

For Bellingham to wants to earn his place into England’s best squad, it would be smart to eliminate the unnecessary reactions. The way he reacted upon realizing that the substitute board was going up after an evening of uneven play in Tirana fell short of expectations.

"I prefer not to overstate it but I stand by my words 'behaviour is key' and respect towards the teammates who come in," commented the coach. "Choices are taken and you have to accept it being a professional."

Bellingham has to learn. There was no need for a tantrum. The captain had recently scored to make the national team 2-0 up in a dead rubber qualifier, there were six minutes left and he, following an inconsistent display, was just shown a yellow for a foul on the Albanian striker. It was not a questionable change. In fact it might have been reckless for the head coach to keep Bellingham on the pitch given that there was a risk he would rule himself out of the first match of the World Cup by picking up a second yellow card.

Drawing Attention to Himself

But Bellingham made himself the center of attention. It was impossible to miss the 22-year-old’s frustration when he clocked that his replacement was ready for Morgan Rogers. He flung his arms in the air and even though he accepted the coach's hand while heading to the bench it was obvious that the head coach was not impressed.

This represents the hurdle for Bellingham. He praised his teammate for sending in the ball for Harry Kane to head in his second of the night, but everything else was counterproductive. It is not as if arguing was going to change Tuchel’s mind. The German has stressed repeatedly following squad protocols and the value of behaving correctly.

Facing Examination

He, omitted from the team last month, has faced close inspection after returning to the squad this month. Practically his place has been in question and he has not done himself any favours with his response to his substitution as England completed a perfect qualifying campaign by overcoming a tough opposition from the Albanian team.

The System and the Setup

As a result opinions are divided on how the team function at their best when Bellingham plays. The performance was inconclusive. There was experimentation from Tuchel at the start. He has given the team structure and clarity over the past few matches, using a No 6, a box-to-box player, a No 10 and specialist wingers, but the approach changed in this match. Quansah was handed his international debut, Wharton made his first start at this level and the positioning of John Stones as an auxiliary midfielder meant there was similar look to the Manchester club's historic treble-winning side.

Inconsistent Display

Bellingham had ups and downs. He created an opportunity for his teammate during the second half but often looked overly eager to shine. He made many rushed, misplaced passes. A pointless clash against an opponent in the early stages. England were ragged for much of the second half. A scoring chance for the opponents resulted from Bellingham gave the ball away. The yellow card came after he lost the ball to Broja and committed a foul on the former Chelsea striker.

Substitutes Decide

Finally the squad's strength was decisive. Tuchel introduced the Manchester City player, who looked better suited to the role occupied by Bellingham earlier in the match, and Bukayo Saka. Eventually Saka provided a corner kick for the captain to open the scoring. It highlighted that set pieces will be crucial at the World Cup.

Connection Remains

Nevertheless, the focus was on Bellingham. The brilliance of Rashford’s assist for Kane’s header was a little lost due to the fuss of the player change. At the end, all eyes were on him. Tuchel came over from behind and directed the Real Madrid midfielder to acknowledge the travelling England fans. Their connection is not broken. Tuchel hasn't decided to discard the player just yet. However, whether he is willing to offer him the central position is still uncertain.