Perhaps a warning to Jude Bellingham came when Thomas Tuchel did not even mention Jude Bellingham. The England manager had been asked about Djed Spence, about the moment when the full-back and his teammate Micky van de Ven had snubbed Thomas Frank when the Tottenham manager was urging them to applaud their fans after the demoralising defeat to Chelsea. It would have been easy for Tuchel to say it was a Tottenham affair or to point out that, unprompted, Spence had gone to Frank to apologise. Instead, he replied: “I didn’t like it.”
His rationale in intervening was to say: “They are always national players and the standard of behaviour is always important.” And so to England’s 2-0 win over Albania, to another reaction that had a touch of petulance, even if it stemmed from disappointment. Bellingham’s number was up and his response incurred Tuchel’s displeasure. “We will not change our decision just because someone is waving their arms,” he said.
