‘He wants a bit of respect!’: Gary Neville backs Jude Bellingham’s ‘punchy’ hit back at Thomas Tuchel after England manager suggested his players were ‘lucky’ against Norway

Gary Neville has backed Jude Bellingham, who applauded England hero Thomas Tuchel’s perfectionist interview following Sunday’s stirring comeback against Norway.

The Three Lions reached the semi-finals of the World Cup by beating Norway 2-1 in extra time after Bellingham struck twice to cancel out Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half cross shot.

But England boss Tuchel was unimpressed with the determined performance in the sweltering Miami heat, describing it as ‘sloppy, lucky’ and not good enough ‘in every sense’.

But Bellingham was a dissenting voice. The Real Madrid attacker, who has scored six goals in six World Cup matches, was unimpressed by Tuchel’s comments after England paused for 120 minutes in over 40°C heat to set up a mouth-watering draw against Argentina.

Responding to Tuchel on ITV, Bellingham said: ‘Yeah, well. Whatever, whatever. It’s tough out there. This is a difficult change. All players are going through a very difficult transfer. My thoughts and appreciation go out to the players who were there and once again made a great change.’

The 23-year-old player stated the following in his statement to the written press: ‘Maybe he doesn’t know what it is like to play against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sörloth in such conditions. It is not an easy team to play against.

We have tried to create a positive environment and we must continue that as we enter the final four. I can’t speak highly enough about the young people. You can’t win every game by throwing the ball and making a thousand passes. ‘Sometimes you have to win dirty and we did it once again.’

Jude Bellingham single-handedly took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup by scoring twice against Norway.

Jude Bellingham has scored six goals in the tournament, level with Harry Kane and just two goals behind Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who paved the way for the Golden Boot.

When asked about Tuchel’s ‘lucky’ comment, Bellingham simply replied: ‘No comment’.

The relationship between Bellingham and Tuchel has been unstable over the past year, with the German describing the superstar attacker as ‘a bit off-putting’ in a bizarre interview with talkSPORT in June 2025. Tuchel later apologized for this comment.

But former England right-back and assistant manager under Roy Hodgson, Gary Neville, backed Bellingham’s inclusion in the team after Tuchel’s harsh assessment.

“I really enjoyed it,” Neville told Sky Sports. ‘I’m not a big believer in players not doing interviews, especially when you’re the best players on the team. If you’re the star player, if you’re the guy who’s going to win our games, I think you’re the guy who needs to go and talk.

‘Jude Bellingham has spoken in every game in this tournament; and even after the Ghana draw he didn’t do great and there was some criticism flying around.

‘There are very few players who can do interviews like that, who can react a bit harshly to their managers, and he’s one of them. Being a superstar doesn’t just mean being successful on the field. I think the interviewer is someone who is completely relaxed, self-confident, and sure of his own personality and character.

Gary Neville backs Jude Bellingham’s decision to object to Thomas Tuchel’s post-match interview

Gary Neville also admitted he has no problem with Thomas Tuchel’s comments – even if they dominate pre-Argentine discourse

‘I liked not only the words that came out of his mouth, but also the look in his eyes. You see the look of someone who is determined and ambitious to succeed.

‘He’s 23 years old, what this kid has done is absolutely monumental. The impact it has on young people in our country and around the world is amazing. I think there might have been a bit of the Tuchel/Bellingham thing made of it; This is clearly something that has been going on for 12 months. But Tuchel isn’t letting him go.

‘Bellingham probably respects his manager for having the courage to say that after the game. He might not think so now, but in 10/15 years when he thinks about excellence and elite performance, he will realize that Thomas Tuchel strives to get more out of the team because he believes they can offer more.

“Sometimes, not only in football but in life, people don’t want to have difficult conversations with each other. Thomas Tuchel comes out, gives an interview, he is not happy with his performance because he knows the team can do better and they should have done better against Argentina.

‘Having reached the World Cup semi-finals, he’s got a player who demands some respect because of the success, the effort and the commitment the players have put in. I have no problem with this kind of thing. Sometimes it comes to your mind, but that’s okay. ‘Sometimes it is better to be one way or the other.’

Gary Neville praises ‘tremendous’ Jude Bellingham for inspiring the next generation

Neville went on to praise Bellingham’s indispensable performance at the World Cup, stating that it confirmed his place among football’s elite.

‘The doubts before the tournament (to be fair, few of us working at ITV had ever experienced this) we never thought it was a Rogers or Bellingham issue. We thought Bellingham was a superstar, but he had to prove it on the biggest stage.

‘My daughters love football, they are 16 and 17, they absolutely adore him, he is a hero. Every kid in England is watching this World Cup thinking they are Jude Bellingham.

‘It was absolutely sensational. Frankly, watching such a performance gives me goosebumps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an English player make an impact in a tournament like this. I was with Gazza in ’96, with Rooney in 2004 and with Michael Owen in ’98. I watched these live and have never seen anything like it. This is absolutely extraordinary, at the highest level.

‘You come to a point in your career where you have to deliver at the highest level, or you fail to do so, and your legacy will be defined accordingly. That’s why big players are big players.

‘Jude thought this was his moment. Everyone looks at him and questions whether he is world class. I thought Harry Kane was our only real world-class player as Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice sat a little lower down and they had more work to do. Jude went and took care of this.

‘He took an extra, giant step up the world-class mountain. You are seeing the best midfielder in the world right now. This is not because he scores goals by the way, but because of the other things that make him a complete player and give him an advantage.

‘He’s England’s superstar. You must admit that this is a game changer. He is performing at a World Cup, scoring six goals and showing incredible performance in attack and defence. He kept the team afloat almost single-handedly; With the support of Harry Kane, who I don’t want to underestimate.

‘We’ve got a game against Argentina on Wednesday, it’s knockout football, things can go wrong – but we’ve got to enjoy it and enjoy where we are while it’s happening.’