Thomas Tuchel had barely stepped off the pitch in Miami when he declared England 'got lucky' and that he was 'not happy' in 'every sense' after a draining 2-1 win over Norway secured their World Cup semi-final place. Jude Bellingham, asked about his manager's comments straight after the final whistle, replied: 'Yeah, well, whatever. It's difficult out there – it's a tough shift.'
But on Monday, England captain Harry Kane insisted the camp is far from divided. 'When you are playing a game like that and to be asked a question five minutes after the final whistle, and he didn't really know what had been said, what do you want Jude to say?' Kane told BBC Sport. 'It is easy to try and create this division – it seems like an English thing to do at these major tournaments. But it is the complete opposite. The group is where we are because of our complete togetherness – not just the players, the coach and the staff.'
“Harry Kane insists England are united despite Tuchel criticism as Jordan Pickford warns Argentina to fear their attack.”
Kane also defended Tuchel's blunt style, calling him 'one of the best managers in the world for a reason'. 'He wears his heart on his sleeve and people appreciate that. When he talks, it is never scripted,' Kane said.
Now England face defending world champions Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday (20:00 BST), a side led by 39-year-old Lionel Messi – the joint leading goalscorer at this World Cup with eight. But goalkeeper Jordan Pickford believes Argentina should be worried about England's firepower. 'I'll talk about Messi because he's one of the goats of the game but you can't look past the ability and the talent we've got in the squad going forward, defensively, togetherness,' Pickford said. 'We've got it all there and that's what we need to put on show on Wednesday. We've got that resilience, we've got that togetherness and we've got that mentality. That's what makes a good team.'
Pickford, now England's all-time record World Cup appearance holder, also stressed that England are 'not the finished article' and want to keep improving. 'The cream rises to the top and we'll always keep working harder to keep improving,' he said.
For left-back Nico O'Reilly, the semi-final represents a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to face Messi, the man he calls 'the best player to ever touch a football pitch'. The Manchester City defender, who has never faced Messi at club level, told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'I can't wait. He's coming towards the end of his career.'