Jude Bellingham Needs to Cut Out the Immature behavior to Earn a Central Position With Coach Tuchel.

Should Bellingham wants to earn his place once again into the English strongest starting eleven, he would be wise to eliminate the nonsense. The way he reacted upon realizing that the substitute board was being shown after a match of uneven play in the match against Albania was unacceptable.

"I prefer not to overstate it but I stick to my words 'attitude matters' and respect for the squad members who enter the game," commented the coach. "Choices are taken and you must accept them when you're on the field."

The midfielder must understand. There was no call for a strop. Harry Kane had recently scored to make the national team two goals ahead in an inconsequential fixture, the game had six minutes to go and the player, following an inconsistent display, received a caution for a foul on the Albanian striker. This was hardly a debatable decision. Indeed it might have been reckless for the manager to not substitute him because there was a chance Bellingham would rule himself out of the initial fixture of the competition by receiving a second caution.

Drawing Attention on Himself

Yet Bellingham drew all eyes toward himself. It was impossible to miss the young midfielder's disappointment as he realized that he would be substituted for Morgan Rogers. He flung his arms in the air and even though he accepted the coach's hand on his way to the touchline there was no doubt that the head coach did not appreciate it.

This is the challenge facing Bellingham. He praised his teammate for providing the assist for Kane to nod home the team's second, but the rest was harmful to his cause. It is not as if complaining was going to alter the decision. Tuchel has talked so much about honoring the team structure and the necessity of acting professionally.

In the Spotlight

The midfielder, omitted from last month’s squad, has faced close inspection since coming back to the squad in the current camp. In effect he has been on trial and he hasn't helped his case through his behavior to coming off the pitch as the side completed a flawless qualification run by seeing off a tough opposition from the Albanian team.

Tactics and Formation

As a result opinions are divided on whether the team operate most effectively including Bellingham. What we saw was inconclusive. There was experimentation from Tuchel early on. He has given the team structure and clarity in recent months, building with a holding player, a box-to-box player, an attacking midfielder and out-and-out wingers, but there was a different feel versus Albania. The young defender was made his England debut, Adam Wharton was in the starting lineup at this level and the use of Stones as a part-time midfielder gave a faint echo to City's 2023 treble winners.

Mixed Performance

Bellingham was a mixed bag. He made a chance for his teammate in the latter period but at times seemed trying too hard. There were a lot of hurried and errant passes. A pointless clash against an opponent early on. England were ragged after halftime. One Albania chance came after Bellingham gave the ball away. His caution was shown after an opponent took the ball by Broja and brought down the attacker.

Squad Strength Shows

Ultimately the squad's strength proved crucial. The coach brought on Foden, who appeared more naturally fitted to the role in which Bellingham operated during the first half, and Saka. Eventually Saka whipped in a corner kick for Harry Kane to open the scoring. This served as a reminder that set pieces will play a key role in the upcoming tournament.

Relationship Not Broken

Still, though, all talk was about Bellingham. The quality of Rashford's cross for the second goal was a little lost in the ridiculousness of the Rogers substitution. At the end, the focus was on him. Tuchel came over from behind and guided the player to acknowledge the English fans. The bond between them is not damaged. Tuchel is not willing to abandon the player just yet. But if he is willing to offer him a starring role remains in doubt.