Miami, July 12 (IANS) England midfielder Jude Bellingham hit back at head coach Thomas Tuchel’s criticism of the team’s performance after his brace helped the Three Lions secure a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway and reach the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals.

Despite England booking a place in the last four, Tuchel was far from satisfied with the performance, describing his side as ‘sloppy’ and ‘lucky’ after they were forced to come from behind at Miami Stadium.

When Tuchel’s assessment was put to Bellingham after the match, the midfielder offered a stronger response to his coach’s criticism, pointing to the difficult conditions and the quality of Norway’s attacking players.

“Maybe, but maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kinds of conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa, Sorloth. That’s not an easy team to play against,” Bellingham told the BBC.

“I think we’ve tried to create a positive environment. We should continue that going into the final four. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads. You’re not going to win every game popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight,” he added.

England were forced to dig deep after Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute. Bellingham dragged the Three Lions level in first-half stoppage time before striking again in the 93rd minute to complete the comeback and send England into the semi-finals.

The midfielder stressed that England’s ability to overcome adversity could prove crucial as they enter the business end of the tournament.

“I think the game is split into loads of different facets. Some of it’s technical, tactical, and for me the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity,” he said.

“This team showed yet again that they can do it, and that’s a really valuable skill and trait to have going into this stage of the tournament,” he added.

Meanwhile, after passing the Norway test, England will now take on defending champions Argentina in the semi-final on Thursday at the Atlanta Stadium.

–IANS

sds/bc