Tuchel relieved as ‘lucky’ Bellingham avoids red card in laboured England win

Thomas Tuchel admitted Jude Bellingham was “lucky” to escape a red card as England “struggled” to secure a 3-0 win against minnows Latvia on Monday.

Just two days after claiming Bellingham can be “very emotional” and needed to control his mood on the pitch, the Real Madrid star was fortunate not to be sent off in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

After being booked in the first half, Bellingham avoided a second yellow yard despite crunching into a crude challenge on Raivis Jurkovskis soon after the interval.

Tuchel sends on Foden

England boss Tuchel responded by sending on Phil Foden to replace the midfielder moments later to ensure he was not given his marching orders.

“A bit lucky. We took straight away the decision to not take the risk and take him off,” Tuchel said.

Leading through Reece James’s superb first half free-kick, England were struggling to kill off stubborn Latvia when Bellingham was substituted.

His lack of discipline could have hampered Tuchel’s bid for a second successive win to start his reign.

Harry Kane netted moments after Bellingham’s departure before Eberechi Eze wrapped up the points on the road to next year’s World Cup.

Facing an unheralded Latvia team 136 places below them in FIFA’s world rankings, Tuchel acknowledged England were far from convincing again after a lacklustre 2-0 win against Albania in his debut on Friday.

“It was not an easy match. We saw a lot of good things, created good chances. We needed a free-kick to unlock it. I’m happy with the attitude, energy and desire. We will get there,” the German said.

“The second half we started to slow the game down and made little movement, which makes no sense. But the second goal was better as we showed acceleration from one of our sixes.

“We encourage everyone to have these late accelerations but we struggled a bit until the goal. I learn about the players and the game, so it is interesting.”

‘His quality is the highest level’

James’s eye-catching first England start since September 2022 was the highlight of the evening for Tuchel.

The Chelsea right-back — hampered by hamstring injuries for the last two seasons — starred under Tuchel during the Blues’ Champions League-winning campaign in 2021.

“I know Reece and the quality the boy has is amazing. He has every right to be proud and happy with his performance,” Tuchel said.

“He is in excellent shape. He looks sharp and the quality there can be no doubt.

“If you play a dominant match like today, he can be a hybrid midfielder to help create an overload. His quality is at the highest level.

“We were in close contact in the last weeks. We knew he was in a good space mentally. That’s what he proved. He was very positive throughout the camp.”

Tuchel was also impressed by Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers in his first England start.

Rogers has become a key figure for Villa during their run to the Champions League quarter-finals this season and Tuchel saw signs that he can replicate that form on the international stage.

“I’m happy with him. He deserved to start. A match where we are so dominant could suit him more to play from the wings,” said Tuchel, whose team return to action against Andorra in June.

“He felt more freedom when we played him there. There was more space. He did good.”