Jude Bellingham needed just one word to respond to Thomas Tuchel’s anger at England’s display against Norway: “Whatever”.
It was a remarkable response from Bellingham and will no doubt lead to awkward questions over the relationship between the England manager and his star player.
The Real Madrid superstar was England’s hero in Miami as he downed old pal Erling Haaland and a resolute Norwegian side, scoring twice including a first-half equaliser and an extra-time winner in a 2-1 success.
Ironically, as ‘Hey Jude’ swirled around the Miami Stadium, Tuchel let rip at his players when interviewed by ITV. The German wasn’t pleased with what he had seen from his side, unhappy with a performance that had seen them fall behind and then have a VAR overturn to thank for them not falling 2-1 down in the second half.
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Tuchel said: “We made life very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four, it’s amazing, but no, I’m not happy with the performance.
“In every sense. The commitment is there but we made life very difficult for us, in the way we played, how we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today."
Asked if it was a mentality issue by interviewer Gabriel Clarke, Tuchel said: “This is pure mentality, how can you ask about mentality? There is no mentality problem, this is pure, you can bottle it up and sell it. It’s nothing to do with mentality. The quality of our game. It’s nothing to do with mentality.”
And Tuchel insisted: “We will get better. We need to get better.”
Asked by ITV’s Gabriel Clarke about Bellingham’s performance, Tuchel was extremely complimentary about the man of the match, declaring: “Enough said. He does it every single match. World class.”
In contrast, Bellingham, when asked about England’s progress and what got them there, said: “Character, perseverance, even when things weren’t working. We found the way to win the game again. Whether it’s in 90, 120, we’ll give everything we’ve got. You saw that there. So proud of this team once again.
“It was a victory for everyone. The whole country wins. Everyone is behind us. It’s a huge shift for everyone.”
And when the subject of Tuchel being unhappy with his team and disappointed with the performance was presented to England’s No.10 - who now has six goals to his name in the tournament - Bellingham responded: “Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever.
“It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a very tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who have put in a tough shift once again.”
Certainly, it felt like Bellingham and Tuchel aren't singing from the same hymn sheet, despite his outstanding personal tournament and England's run to the final four.
"I love both interviews," said Gary Neville, on punditry duty for ITV. "Honestly, Thomas Tuchel's was fantastic, I think Jude Bellingham's response was brilliant."
Roy Keane added: "The manager's being honest, and the player's being honest."
For Neville, Tuchel's comments and Bellingham's riposte came from a place where the manager isn't fully getting the collective display he wants from his side, but has his star men in Harry Kane and Bellingham producing enough to get the side through - and now two "massive egos" are both saying what they think is needed after an energy sapping evening - but one which was ultimately successful.
"We've not looked a collective unit to be fair in the whole tournament, in terms of knitting combinations together and rhythm of passing together," said Neville. "What we have looked like is we've got an exceptional individual or two in Bellingham and Kane.
"And by the way, what you've just seen there in those two interviews is massive egos. You only get that when you've got world class players and world class managers because you need to be exceptional to do what those two have just done. And it's brilliant that England have got those two."
Speaking after receiving his man of the match award, Bellingham would further challenge his manager's viewpoint, declaring: Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, (Martin) Odegaard, (Antonio) Nusa, (Alexander) Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against.
“So, I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment. We should continue that going into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads. You’re not going to win every game, popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight.”
Asked whether he agreed with Tuchel’s assessment that England were lucky, he replied: “No comment.”
Wayne Rooney however DID agree with the England boss however, stating: "We're all delighted that England have got through but the performance wasn't great but they found a way.
"I love that interview [from Tuchel]. I thought he was spot on in terms of the mentality, the character of the players has got them through that game because for large parts of that game Norway were the better team."
And Rooney reckoned it was all about ensuring his side are ready to push on - because there is going to be a big rise in opposition standard in their remaining games.
"I think he's done it to show everyone that the performance wasn't good enough, to show the players the performance wasn't good enough," added Rooney. "He knows if you get to a semi-final or final that a performance playing like that isn't good enough to get through.
"The opposition gets greater than what Norway are and I think he has done that purposefully. When you come up against a Spain, France, Argentina or Switzerland, who are a big threat in this tournament as well, you can't afford to not play well. What they'll do is take the ball off you, make you work and punish you. Norway didn't punish England with the opportunities they had.
"It's very clever from Tuchel again it's sort of the first time we've seen that throughout this tournament."
Asked about Tuchel's comments after the manager had spoken to his players in the changing room, England skipper Kane said: "He just said in the changing room massive congratulations, we should enjoy it and celebrate but that there's a part of him that knows we can do better.
"Which in a way is a good thing because we're in the semi-final of a World Cup knowing we can still improve, still find another level - we've got to take that as a positive."
While Kane may well be doing that, it seems Bellingham may not be.
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