Tuchel to review Bellingham reaction to sub as England standards ´exclude no-one´

Thomas Tuchel plans to revisit the events around Jude Bellingham’s substitution against Albania on Sunday as the England midfielder’s behaviour continues to be scrutinised.

Bellingham was substituted in the aftermath of England’s second goal in a 2-0 win.

However, Tuchel noted the Real Madrid man’s angry reaction to that decision.

“That’s the decision; he has to accept the decision,” Tuchel said of Bellingham being replaced by Morgan Rogers.

“The players are his friends, his friend is waiting on the sideline, so he needs to accept it, respect it and keep on going.”

Tuchel has previously had to apologise for describing Bellingham’s on-field behaviour as “repulsive”, with the England boss facing repeated questions about his relationship with the 22-year-old.

Bellingham only returned to the England squad this month, having not immediately been recalled following his recovery from injury earlier in the season, with the match in Tirana his first start back in the side.

Amid the discourse around Bellingham’s role in the squad, Tuchel has extensively discussed the expectations of how his players will behave, and it was put to him that Bellingham’s actions on Sunday did not meet the standard.

“I didn’t see it that way. I have to review it,” Tuchel replied. “I saw that he was not happy.

On comes @morgz_10 for @BellinghamJude in our final change pic.twitter.com/qA5IEwOEIr

— England (@England) November 16, 2025

“I don’t want to make it bigger at the moment than it is. To a certain degree, if you have players like Jude, who are so competitive, they will never like it. But my word stands: it is about standards, about level, commitment to each other.

“Someone is waiting outside, and we will not change our decision just because someone is waving his arms.”

Tuchel acknowledged he had not been solely focused on Bellingham as Harry Kane headed in Marcus Rashford’s cross, meaning he was not aware of suggestions the player had not joined his team-mates in celebrating before being substituted.

“That’s a bad impression,” Tuchel said. “It should be about the collective. Everything we did in camp is all about the collective.

“I have to review it, because I was very happy about the goal, I had a quick talk with Morgan Rogers, and I was sure that everybody would celebrate together. I will have a look at it.

“That’s not the image that we want to transmit. We feel that everyone is committed and everyone also accepts tough decisions, be it before the match or in the match. That excludes no-one.”