If Jude Bellingham is to force his way back into Englandâ€s best team then he would be wise to cut out the nonsense. His reaction when he saw that his number was about to come up after an evening of inconsistency in Tirana was not good enough.
It was a challenge to Thomas Tuchelâ€s authority and was hardly a clever look given that it added to the sense that this is a player who is yet to realise that his immediate international future hinges on embracing the collective.
Bellingham has to learn. There was no need for a strop. Harry Kane had just put England 2-0 up in a dead rubber of a qualifier, there were six minutes left and Bellingham, who had not played particularly well, had just been booked for fouling Armando Broja. This was hardly a controversial substitution. In fact it would have been foolish for Tuchel to leave Bellingham on given that there was a risk that midfielder would rule himself out of the opening game of the World Cup by picking up a second yellow card.
Yet Bellingham turned the spotlight on himself. There was no disguising the 22-year-oldâ€s frustration when he clocked that he was going to make way for Morgan Rogers. He flung his arms in the air and although he shook Tuchelâ€s hand after making his way to the touchline it was clear that the head coach was not impressed.
“I donâ€t want to make more out of it but I stick to my words ‘behaviour is key†and respect towards the teammates who come in,†Tuchel said. “Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player.â€
This is the challenge for Bellingham. He congratulated Marcus Rashford for delivering the cross for Kane to head in his second of the night but the rest was self-defeating. It is not as if protesting was going to change Tuchelâ€s mind. The German has talked so much about respecting team hierarchies and the importance of behaving correctly.
Bellingham, left out of last monthâ€s squad, has been under scrutiny after returning to the fold this month. In effect he has been on trial and he has not done himself any favours with his response to being taken off as England rounded off a perfect qualifying campaign by seeing off a feisty challenge from Albania.
Jude Bellingham offered moments of quality in Tirana but also showed flashes of impertinence. Photograph: Francesco Scaccianoce/Uefa/Getty Images
It means the jury is out on whether England function at their best with Bellingham in the team. The evidence here was inconclusive. There was experimentation from Tuchel at the start. He has given England structure and clarity in recent months, building with a No 6, a No 8, a No 10 and specialist wingers, but there was a different feel against Albania. Jarell Quansah was handed his international debut, Adam Wharton made his first start at this level and the positioning of John Stones as an auxiliary midfielder meant there was a passing resemblance to Manchester Cityâ€s 2023 treble winners.
It was nothing if not interesting. England morphed into a 3-2-2-3 system in possession during the first half. There was no No 10. Bellingham was an inside-right with licence to roam. Declan Rice pushed higher than usual. Eberechi Eze was wide on the left but struggled to get involved.
The problem was that Albania were deep and compact. England did not create much and there was little sign of a connection between Kane and Bellingham. It took until the 35th minute for them to link up. A quick exchange of passes had Bellingham running at Albania and feeding Jarrod Bowen, who was denied by a good save from Thomas Strakosha.
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Bellingham was a mixed bag. He made a chance for Eze during the second half but often looked too desperate to impress. There were a lot of rushed, misplaced passes. There was a needless bit of aggro with an Albania midfielder early on. England were ragged for much of the second half. One Albania chance came after Bellingham squandered possession. His booking came after he lost the ball to Broja and fouled the former Chelsea striker.
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In the end Englandâ€s depth made the difference. Tuchel threw on Phil Foden, who seemed better suited to the position in which Bellingham operated during the first half, and Bukayo Saka. Eventually Saka delivered a corner for Kane to open the scoring. It was a reminder that set pieces will be crucial next summer.
Still, though, Bellingham was the story. The brilliance of Rashfordâ€s assist for Kaneâ€s header was a little lost in the ridiculousness of the Rogers substitution. At the end, all eyes were on Bellingham. Tuchel walked up behind him and pushed the Real Madrid midfielder towards the travelling England fans. Their relationship is not broken. Tuchel is not willing to give up on Bellingham yet. Yet whether he is willing to give him centre stage remains in doubt.
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