Jude Bellingham had to be physically pulled away from the Ghana bench by teammate Morgan Rogers at half-time of England's goalless World Cup draw in Boston – the flashpoint sparked by a tackle the 22-year-old midfielder described as “silly”.
The incident began when Bellingham shoved Jerome Opoku, and tensions boiled over after the referee blew for half-time, with players and coaches sparring as they headed for the tunnel. “He had a bad reaction with some bad names and that's why the story started,” Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz said.
“Jude Bellingham clashed with Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz at half-time of England's goalless draw, as Thomas Tuchel defended the midfielder.”
Bellingham, who at 50 caps became the youngest England player to reach that milestone, played down the row. “I was trying to win the ball, and I followed through a little bit and caught the lad. I spoke to him after, and then their bench jumped up trying to get me a yellow card,” he said. “I think their manager [Queiroz] … great respect, and nothing but a competitive edge for both of us.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel defended his player. “It was an exchange of emotions, and Jude stood up for himself and his team,” Tuchel said. “Emotions are a part of the game but we don't want to get distracted with stuff that could distract us.” No cards were shown.
The stalemate left England top of Group L, and they will qualify for the last 32 with a draw against Panama on Saturday. But the performance reignited debate over Tuchel's squad selection, with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher questioning the omission of Chelsea's Cole Palmer. Writing in The Telegraph, Carragher said Tuchel sending on Eberechi Eze for the final 20 minutes “will have provoked many in the country to think, 'Surely Palmer would have been a better option from the bench?'” Eze struggled to make an impact and was dispossessed, with Ghana squandering the counter-attack.
“For that, you need a magician,” Carragher added, “and from the moment Tuchel selected his squad, the worry was that he left out the No. 10 with all the best tricks.”