England head coach Thomas Tuchel has expressed his belief that Jude Bellingham will one day become a permanent captain of the national team. The Real Madrid star led the side as they secured a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic in their Nations League clash.
Just three days after a disappointing home defeat to Spain, the Three Lions travelled to Prague and delivered a confident performance thanks to goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, who left the field to hand the captaincy to Bellingham after being substituted. The Czechs were reduced to ten men following Pavel Schulz's dismissal in the first half.
"If you are captain at the end of such matches, you are surely on your way to becoming a permanent captain. I think he enjoys being with us a lot right now. I can feel that. We had a little chat about his role today. Our hearts were telling us to start him, but the brain said 30 minutes would be enough since he hasn't had a packed schedule this season. You could see today that he is confident and happy to help even from the bench, which is a reward in itself. He picked up a little knock at the end of the match; hopefully, it's nothing serious and he will be available for the game against Croatia."
Tuchel also reflected on the pragmatic style of play his team adopted in this match.
"Have I ever had to make excuses as England boss? Never. Sometimes I quite like these unglamorous results. Occasionally, you just have to walk off the pitch having won 2-0, enjoy a peaceful evening, and move on to the next game. You can't always be glamorous and super exciting; sometimes you have to do the hard work without much praise because we were favourites and it was expected of us."
When pressed about the team’s reaction to the ongoing legal issues surrounding Manchester City, whose players Mark Gehi, Elliot Anderson, and Nico O'Riley are part of the squad, Tuchel's press secretary quickly intervened.
"Sorry, that’s a legal matter, and we won’t be commenting on that, so there’s no point in pursuing further questions on this topic."
