Jude Bellingham was "lucky" not to be sent off in England's victory over Latvia - Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that Jude Bellingham was "fortunate" to avoid a red card as England faced challenges in achieving a 3-0 victory against the underdog Latvia on Monday.
Just two days after expressing that Bellingham can be "very emotional" and needs to manage his temperament on the field, the Real Madrid player narrowly escaped a dismissal during the World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
Having received a yellow card in the first half, Bellingham evaded a second booking despite committing a reckless challenge on Raivis Jurkovskis shortly after the break.
In response, England's manager Tuchel substituted Bellingham for Phil Foden just moments later to prevent the midfielder from being sent off.
"A bit lucky. We took straight away the decision to not take the risk and take him off," Tuchel said.
England took the lead with a brilliant free-kick from Reece James in the first half, but they struggled to secure a decisive victory against a resilient Latvia when Bellingham was substituted.
His indiscipline could have jeopardized Tuchel's efforts to achieve a second consecutive win at the start of his tenure.
Shortly after Bellingham left the field, Harry Kane scored, and Eberechi Eze later sealed the victory as England continued their journey toward next year's World Cup.
Facing a Latvia team ranked 136 places lower in FIFA's standings, Tuchel recognized that England's performance was far from convincing, following a lackluster 2-0 win against Albania in his debut match on Friday.
"It was not an easy match. We saw a lot of good things, created good chances. We needed a free-kick to unlock it. I'm happy with the attitude, energy and desire. We will get there," the German said.
"The second half we started to slow the game down and made little movement, which makes no sense. But the second goal was better as we showed acceleration from one of our sixes.
"We encourage everyone to have these late accelerations but we struggled a bit until the goal. I learn about the players and the game, so it is interesting."
Tuchel's evening was marked by James's impressive first start for England since September 2022. The Chelsea right-back, who has struggled with hamstring injuries over the past two seasons, had previously excelled under Tuchel during the Blues' victorious Champions League run in 2021.
"I know Reece and the quality the boy has is amazing. He has every right to be proud and happy with his performance," Tuchel said.
"He is in excellent shape. He looks sharp and the quality there can be no doubt.
"If you play a dominant match like today, he can be a hybrid midfielder to help create an overload. His quality is at the highest level.
"We were in close contact in the last weeks. We knew he was in a good space mentally. That's what he proved. He was very positive throughout the camp."
Tuchel expressed admiration for Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers following his inaugural start for the England national team.
Rogers has emerged as a pivotal player for Villa as they progress to the Champions League quarter-finals this season, and Tuchel noted indications that he could mirror that performance on the international level.
"I'm happy with him. He deserved to start. A match where we are so dominant could suit him more to play from the wings," said Tuchel, whose team return to action against Andorra in June.
"He felt more freedom when we played him there. There was more space. He did good."
SportsLigue