Tuchel pushes Bellingham to ‘keep going’ in World Cup knockouts

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Thomas Tuchel has urged Jude Bellingham to continue his form for England in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

England booked their place in the round of 32 as Group L winners after Bellingham scored and assisted in a 2-0 win over Panama.

Bellingham (22 years, 363 days) became the youngest England player on record (since 1966) to both score and assist in a World Cup match, and the fourth overall for the Three Lions.

And despite going off in the 71st minute, Bellingham created four chances (including one assist), more than any other player in the match and his joint-most in an England shirt (also four against Latvia in a World Cup qualifier in March 2025).

The Real Madrid star has proven to be a key player under Tuchel, who now wants to see Bellingham impress in the knockout rounds.

“I’m not sure if it’s a reaction. But it is what we want from him,” said Tuchel on Bellingham.

“He was very positive from the first day in camp. He buys fully into all the things we demand as a team player, and then he brings his own individual quality to decide football games.

— England (@England) June 28, 2026

“That’s what you see in World Cups now, and what you see from other teams and other big players. We have it in him and he’s a key player.

“He buys fully into all the things we demand of him as a team player. So well done until now. He needs to keep going.”

England will face DR Congo in the round of 32; this will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations.

England will face an African team in a World Cup knockout stage match for just the third time, following wins over Cameroon (3-2 in the 1990 quarter-final) and Senegal (3-0 in the 2022 round of 16).

The Three Lions have only failed to win four of their 17 games under Tuchel (D2 L2), although half of those non-victories have been in their two matches against African sides (1-3 v Senegal in June 2025 and 0-0 v Ghana on MD2 of this World Cup).

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