Spoiled in Spain, spoiled in England — you can pull that off with Xabi, not with Thomas

The quality is there — it just needs to be channeled properly by keeping egos in check and putting them at the service of the team. Thomas Tuchel knows this well, and he smartly used the minor bumps in the careers of stars like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, and Cole Palmer to show them that no one is untouchable.

Still, Tuchel isn’t foolish; he knows they’re the best players he has. He simply refuses to let their stature disrupt the rest of the squad. That’s why he directed some sharper words toward Bellingham after the Real Madrid midfielder protested being substituted in the 84th minute of England’s 2–0 win over Albania in Tirana.

It wasn’t anything dramatic, but Jude did gesture with his hands and sulk on the bench. And Tuchel openly admits he doesn’t like such behavior.

“I saw he wasn’t happy. I’ll have to review it. To a certain extent, when you have players like Bellingham — so competitive — they’ll never like being taken off,” Tuchel began. But then…

“My words still stand: it’s about standards and the level of commitment and respect for one another. So if someone is standing on the sideline, I’m not going to change my decision just because someone else waved their arms. I don’t want to make a bigger drama out of this than it is, but I stand by what I said: ‘Behavior is key.’ As is respecting the players who are coming on. Decisions are made, and as a player you have to accept them.”

Tuchel’s decision to give a chance to Morgan Rogers — who covered excellently for Bellingham while he dealt with a shoulder injury — didn’t sit well with Jude, especially since fans voted him man of the match.

“The decision is what it is, and he has to accept it. Your teammate is standing by the touchline. You need to accept that, respect it, and move on. Jude had already been booked, and we made the decision before the second goal. And that decision stands,” Tuchel concluded.

Leave the man alone — another brat from Xabi Alonso’s kindergarten is crying

All of this is true — but so is the idea that English media will likely be bored until the World Cup begins, because England will undoubtedly be chasing the title there. Until then, they’ll invent stories, as they always do.

Some outlets on the “island” are highly reputable, others extremely tabloid. So they even tried to push onto Tuchel the narrative that Bellingham didn’t celebrate Kane’s goal with his teammates. Which wasn’t true. He simply raised his arms in the air as soon as — right after the celebration — he noticed Rogers standing by the sideline.