England reached a second semi-final in three tournaments, as Bellingham’s brace was enough to edge out a spirited Norway side, who originally took the lead.
Far from England’s best performance, it drew a passionate speech of constructive criticism from Tuchel, who hailed his side’s mentality but questioned their quality.
Bellingham hit back, calling the match “tough” as the Three Lions now await the winner of the final quarter-final tie between Argentina and Switzerland.
Tuchel’s Passionate Criticism
Paul Childs via Reuters
“We made life very difficult for ourselves,” Tuchel began. “The result is fantastic, it’s amazing, but we are not happy with the performance.” When pushed for more details, the German simply responded with, “In every sense. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough: we were lucky today.”
When asked if it was a mentality issue, Tuchel quickly hit back at ITV’s Gabriel Clarke, passionately hailing his players, stating that mentality is what drove the players to success:
“I am not happy. The way we played was sloppy, we did a lot of technical mistakes.
“It is nothing to do with mentality. We need to play better…”
Speaking on Bellingham, who netted another brace after his efforts against Mexico, he called the Real Madrid star “world-class” and claimed he produces “every single match”.
Bellingham’s Bold Response
When the midfielder was told his manager was not happy with the team’s performance, Bellingham’s reply was rather eye-catching. He bluntly said:
“It’s difficult out there. A tough shift,” he added. “Character, perseverance, when things weren’t working we found a way to win a game. We gave it everything we’ve got. So proud of this team.”
Before Bellingham’s brace, a first-half strike from Andreas Schjelderup sparked the game into life, as the Benfica attacker fired an effort that toed the line between cross and shot. Regardless, it shocked England into life, who quickly hit back on the edge of halftime.
Bellingham received a smart ball from Anthony Gordon before carrying it into the box and firing low and hard past Ørjan Nyland to bring his side level. However, England had to be saved by VAR in the early knockings of the second half as Torbjorn Heggem’s goal was ruled out following a foul by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson.
The 23-year-old midfielder grabbed his second to settle the tie early into extra-time, netting his sixth in this tournament format, which is more than Zinedine Zidane managed across his World Cup career.
Conor McGregor entered the Octagon for his comeback after five years away full of confidence, to the Notorious hip hop song, and a sea of smoke, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, for his main event fight at UFC 329 against long-time rival Max Holloway.
It was a long time coming for McGregor, and he even got a new haircut — a mohawk — for the occasion. But on Saturday, the 11th of July, he got all the confidence beaten out of him early, only it wasn’t Holloway who beat him, or it was himself as McGregor injured himself throwing his very first kick.
He tried to start hard and fast but fell twice from his opening two kicks, managed to get back to his feet after slipping around the mat, but fell, for a third time, whenever he threw a strike. Even Holloway looked concerned at the referee, as if it should be stopped. Eventually, it was. McGregor couldn’t defend himself.
Paddy Pimblett rebounded from his brutal loss to Justin Gaethje earlier this year in thrilling fashion, defeating Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event at the UFC 329 card which took place on Saturday, the 11th of July from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pimblett is one of the sport’s biggest stars thanks to his raucous fan-base, extraordinary ring-walks, and for the TV-friendly fighting style he exhibits, which has generated many memorable encounters in Cage Warriors and UFC, win or lose.
Pimblett has been competing at the highest echelons in the UFC’s lightweight division for years now, and despite his recent loss, did not take a backward step by taking on Saint Denis, who took four wins on the spin to the Octagon, including finishes over Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush, and Dan Hooker.
But, over the weekend, Pimblett appeared unfazed at his opponent’s accolades and scored a first-round submission.
Paddy Pimblett Sleeps Benoit Saint Denis
In three defeats as a pro MMA fighter to date, Saint Denis had never been submitted, losing only to a decision (Elizeu Zeliskis dos Santos) and knockouts (Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano). But even in those finishes, nobody stopped him in as lightning quick fashion as Pimblett.
In footage you can see below, it’s clear Pimblett attacks in rapid fashion, secures a guillotine on Saint Denis, locks the submission within 30 seconds around the neck, and sends the Frencman to sleep. The referee, Marc Goddard, waved the fight off when he grabbed ahold of Saint Denis’s arm, held it high, and let go. And when it dropped immediately to the canvas, Goddard knew he was out cold. It was all over.
Watch Pimblett put Saint Denis to sleep right here:
Here is another look:
Victory advanced Pimblett’s pro MMA record to 24 wins (seven knockouts and 11 submissions) against four defeats, and crucially sees him rebound instantly after the loss to Gaethje.
It was a tight game, but England just about had enough in them to get across the line against Norway. Two goals from Jude Bellingham sent the Three Lions into the World Cup semi-finals, as they won the match 2-1.
A freakish goal allowed their opponents to take a first-half lead when Andreas Schjelderup’s cross looped over Jordan Pickford’s head. Just before the break, Bellingham then levelled the score, although his goal came in controversial fashion, with the ball appearing to hit a TV camera during the build-up.
The second half passed with more drama as Norway’s Torbjorn Heggem had a goal ruled out when VAR spotted a push by Erling Haaland, but just three minutes into extra-time Bellingham popped up with his second. Morgan Rogers’ strike was spilt by goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, allowing the midfielder to steal in for the winner.
It was a tough game, and Thomas Tuchel wasn’t happy with his team. However, his response has not gone down well with Bellingham.
Thomas Tuchel Unhappy After England 2-1 Norway
Speaking to the press immediately after the win, Tuchel made it clear that he wasn’t satisfied with the performance, despite obviously being delighted to have made it to the World Cup semi-finals. He told the media: “We made life very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic, it’s amazing, but we are not happy with the performance.”
When pushed for more details, the German explained, “In every sense. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough: we were lucky today.” He was also quoted as saying:
“I am not happy. The way we played was sloppy, we did a lot of technical mistakes. It is nothing to do with mentality. We need to play better…”
His comments appear to have irked Bellingham. Speaking to ITV, the Real Madrid star seemed pretty dismissive of Tuchel’s criticisms, as he shot back: “Whatever. It’s difficult out there. A tough shift. Character, perseverance: when things weren’t working, we found a way to win a game. We gave it everything we’ve got. So proud of this team.”
While some might put the tension down to high emotions in the heat of the moment, he doubled down on his stance when talking to BBC Sport in another interview. Bellingham was asked, “Thomas has just been quite critical of the performance, does that just show the standards he expects?” The midfielder shot back:
“Maybe, but 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… You know, that’s not an easy team to play against.
“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.”
Bellingham certainly didn’t pull any punches as he appeared to suggest Tuchel should have been more ‘positive’ with his post-game reaction. It will certainly be interesting to see how the German now repsonds to this criticism from one of his own key players.
For now, though, both men will just be relieved to have made it into the semi-finals.
