Thomas Tuchel sends ‘angry’ message to Jude Bellingham after England benching

England manager Thomas Tuchel has spoken about the balance between keeping the players happy and ensuring competition for places after Jude Bellingham was left on the bench vs Serbia

Thomas Tuchel expects England players to be “angry” if they do not start at the World Cup – just as long as they support the team. Tuchel insists successful teams are always united and together which is proved when even the substitutes are cheering on their teammates from the bench.

The England boss says Jude Bellingham had “no problem at all” with not starting against Serbia at Wembley and all of his second half substitutes made a big impact. Tuchel said: “You can be angry at the coach, you can be angry at the situation, but if you see the nations that win, see the clubs that win the Champions League, then the bench is on their feet.

“For the last eight to 10 minutes there is no-one sat there thinking: ‘I should be on the field, I should be on the field, why am I not there?’ They are just there. I experienced this once in the amazing run with Chelsea and it was non-stop, everyone was pushing and fighting from the bench even if they were not picked and they were ready.

“This makes the difference in the end and I strongly, strongly believe we should arrive with a team like that. Even if they are disappointed, which is absolutely normal. They will never be happy, they don’t have to be happy, no one is used to sit on the bench, this is the nature of a strong national team.”

READ MORE: Wayne Rooney names the England star who will miss out on World Cup squadREAD MORE: Phil Foden reaction speaks volumes after England star came on as sub with Jude Bellingham

Bellingham could start in Albania on Sunday in what is England’s final World Cup qualifying fixture with their place in the United States already guaranteed.

The Real Madrid star is facing a huge battle to win back his England place from his close pal Morgan Rogers and Tuchel insists that Bellingham has accepted the situation. Bellingham had missed out on the last two squads and is now having to bide his time.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Jude Bellingham be a guaranteed starter for England at the World Cup? Comment below.

Tuchel added: “It was no problem at all. I explained it to him before the team meeting. He came on and played good, good, straight away with all the force and right energy and full of quality up front. We have had three fantastic performances with Morgan so one of the reasons was to keep him in this position.

“But we knew we would suffer from ball possession from Serbia so we thought once we have clear information, it could be nicer for Jude to play in the second half and these were the decisions.”

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