England manager Thomas Tuchel hailed his players' resilience after they defeated Norway 2-1 in extra time to reach the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals, but stressed the Three Lions must elevate their performances to claim the title. The victory, secured by a Jude Bellingham brace in Miami, sets up a last-four clash with defending champions Argentina.
Bellingham double rescues England
England fell behind early when Andreas Schjelderup's looping cross found the net, following an earlier Erling Haaland effort that tested goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. However, the team equalized just before halftime as Anthony Gordon set up Bellingham, who calmly finished past Orjan Nyland. The second half saw Norway dominate, with Pickford making crucial saves and a Torbjørn Heggem goal disallowed after a VAR review penalized Haaland for a push. Kristoffer Ajer hit the crossbar as England held on to force extra time.
In the additional period, Nyland spilled Morgan Rogers' shot, allowing Bellingham to score his second goal of the match and his sixth of the tournament. Bellingham and captain Harry Kane have now combined for 12 of England's 13 goals in the competition, a statistic Tuchel acknowledged while calling for broader attacking contributions.
Tuchel's mixed emotions
“Absolutely, no one disputes that,” Tuchel said, according to Reuters, when asked about Bellingham's assessment of the team's commitment. “I'm impressed with the shift that they put in, the effort, team spirit, the belief, and to overcome adversity and to dig in and find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level. They cannot get enough praise for that.”
“But I'm also a football coach, and I think we can play better. In general, I think it was not a high-level game,” Tuchel added. “I think we had better games in general. The analysing head of me and the football coach in me still thinks that we can and have to play better football.”
Bellingham defends team display
Bellingham, named Player of the Match, defended the team's performance. “Oh well, whatever... It's difficult out there,” he said, as per Reuters. “It's a tough shift. All the players put in a very tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who were out there who put in a great shift yet again.”
Tuchel agreed with Bellingham on the team's effort but maintained there is room for improvement. “We need to get better in attacking to also bring other players into position,” Tuchel said. “But, of course, they are decisive players. They love the responsibility. They have the quality. They show up in decisive moments, so there's nothing wrong with it. We don't need to be sorry for that, that these two guys play for us and decide the matches for us. It's impressive. They're both top players who found a way to play so efficiently with each other.”
Tuchel clarifies post-match reaction
Clarifying his post-match demeanor, Tuchel stressed he was happy with the result but not fully satisfied with the performance. “No, not at all with the result and not with the team,” he said. “Maybe I need to be more specific. There's no doubt I'm proud, and I'm happy. And I feel so connected to this team because they just do whatever it takes to take the next step. They just refuse to lose. They overcome obstacles and adversity.”
“We want to bring out the best in us because the top performance helps you win games. It is just like this, and so the head of mine is not fully satisfied and is not 100% happy with the way we played, and I stand by it,” Tuchel concluded.
England will face Argentina in Wednesday's semi-final in Atlanta as they pursue their second World Cup title.
