Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Jude Bellingham praised his England team-mates fighting spirit and ability to “win dirty” after Thomas Tuchel criticised the Three Lions’ performance against Norway.
England booked their spot in the semi-finals of the World Cup following a 2-1 win over Norway at Miami Stadium, with Bellingham once again coming to his nation’s rescue.
Andreas Schjelderup’s dipping effort over Jordan Pickford gave Norway a 36th-minute lead, only for the in-form Bellingham to level things up in first-half stoppage time.
Norway looked the more likely to score the next goal, with Torbjorn Heggem’s effort ruled out after Erling Haaland pushed Elliot Anderson in the build-up to the corner before Kristoffer Ajer saw his header strike against the crossbar.
However, England booked their place in the final four, where they will face defending champions Argentina, in the third minute of extra time when Bellingham pounced on an error by Orjan Nyland, who failed to deal with Morgan Rogers’ shot from distance.
England have now won four consecutive World Cup games, their longest winning run within a single edition since 1966 (five), though Tuchel was far from impressed at full time.
The England boss described his team’s display as “sloppy”, adding they were “lucky” to progress, but Bellingham disagreed with his head coach’s post-match assessment.
“Yeah, well, whatever, whatever. It’s difficult out there, it’s difficult,” Bellingham said.
“It’s a tough shift. All of the players put in a very tough shift and my thoughts and appreciations go to all the players who were out there who put in a great shift.”
5 – Jude Bellingham has scored more goals than any other midfielder at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (5 – 0 penalties).
Only Gary Lineker (6 in 1986) has ever netted more non-penalty goals in a major tournament for England (WC/Euro).
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 11, 2026
And when Bellingham was asked again about Tuchel’s comments and whether they displayed the high standards he expects from his England team, he added: “Maybe.
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in these types of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth, you know.
“That’s not an easy team to play against. We’ve tried to create a positive environment, and we should continue that into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads.
“You’re not going to win every game by popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes, you have to win dirty.”
England also had to deal with the searing heat in Miami, but Bellingham was cool, calm and collected for England as he continued his fine World Cup form.
Bellingham has now netted six goals in this year’s World Cup, none of which have been penalties.
It is the joint-most non-penalty goals by an England player in a major tournament (World Cup/Euro), along with Gary Lineker at the 1986 World Cup.
He has also scored seven goals at the World Cup for England – the only player to net more in the competition while aged 23 or younger is Kylian Mbappe (12), while Bellingham is now level with Brazilian legend Pele.
And with braces against Mexico and Norway, Bellingham is the first player to score 2+ goals in consecutive knockout stage appearances in the same World Cup edition since Diego Maradona in 1986 (two against England and two against Belgium).
The Real Madrid midfielder highlighted the difficulty of the conditions, but he was thrilled to help England reach their fourth semi-final at a major tournament since 2018.
“It was an England masterclass in a different way, not one of them where we pop the ball and have a million chances, but it was a masterclass with fight and spirit,” he added.
“I’m so proud of the team, what we managed to produce. I know people will say we didn’t play the best, but people don’t understand how difficult those kinds of games are.
“In Miami the heat was unbelievable, the humidity. By the end, we were dead. Credit to the lads they left everything out there, we will have to find it again.
“I always think what changes whether you are 1-0 or 2-0 down, you always still want to score the next goal.
“So I’m calm among the emotions and things that go through my head. I trust my ability, but more so, I trust the ability of my team-mates and the work and effort they put in.
“I’m enjoying my football, I’m blessed to be in the position to help my country win football games. That’s all I can say.
“I don’t care if it’s the best or whatever, I don’t care, as long as we keep winning games, that’s all that matters.
“We can be proud of this achievement, see who we are playing by the time we land, then tomorrow we go again to prepare for that one.”
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