FIFA World Cup 2026: "Spoke to whole team," England coach Thomas Tuchel held meeting to clear air after Norway comments

Georgia [US], July 15 : England manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that he held a meeting with his players to address the fallout from their quarterfinal victory over Norway and ensure the squad was fully focused ahead of the FIFA World Cup semifinal against Argentina, according to The Athletic.
England's 2-1 win over Norway in Miami was followed by scrutiny over Tuchel's public criticism of the team's performance and Jude Bellingham's response. Ahead of Wednesday's semifinal, the England boss said he wanted to put the controversy behind the team and shift their attention entirely to the challenge posed by Argentina.
Tuchel was keen before the semifinal to emphasise that he had "no problem" with Bellingham's post-match comments, and to say that he and Bellingham see things in the same way.
"I think we come from the same place," Tuchel said, as quoted by The Athletic. "Our comments come from the same place from being competitive and having the edge when competition is on."
"I spoke to the whole team, we debriefed," Tuchel said. "I spoke to the whole team after in the dressing room, which was basically the same message."
Tuchel said he asked his players to put the controversy surrounding their FIFA World Cup quarterfinal win over Norway behind them and focus fully on Wednesday's semifinal against defending champions Argentina.
"I explained it again on Sunday evening to just move on forward," Tuchel said, as quoted by The Athletic. "And then we straight away in the talk put on a new direction, put on a new head: which is the semi-final and Argentina."
Tuchel put Bellingham's comments in the context of his physical exhaustion and reiterated the positive aspects of his post-match messaging.
"(Bellingham) was just confronted with the negative side, often with a critique of my side," Tuchel said of the midfielder's post-match comments. "I called him a world-class player, I said he had world-class actions again to decide the match. I said the mentality is outstanding of this team. All of that was not part of the question. I get it."
Tuchel praised Argentina's resilience and emotional approach ahead of their FIFA World Cup semifinal clash, describing the defending champions as a team with a special "edge" but insisting his side is prepared for the challenge.
"They have this kind of edge," Tuchel said.
"You can sense it when they're going a goal down, and when matches are tight. They're a tough team to beat," he added.
The England boss highlighted the continuity within the Argentina squad, noting that much of the group has remained together since their 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph.
"They're almost the same group as four years ago. You can see the cohesion, you can see the sacrifice that they put into it. They don't panic when they're behind. They believe in their style. And their style is a very emotional style. It was in Qatar, and it is now," Tuchel said.
He also acknowledged the motivation Argentina draw from their footballing history but backed England's mentality to match the challenge.
"And of course, they are fuelled by history; it means a lot to them. But we are also emotional; we have the grit, we have the mentality that it takes to go up against it. And we are ready for it," Tuchel added.
England will face defending champions Argentina in the second FIFA World Cup semifinal, with the winners set to meet Spain in the final after La Roja defeated France 2-0 in the first semifinal.