Jude Bellingham ‘lucky’ not to get England red card as Thomas Tuchel reacts | Football | Sport

England boss Thomas Tuchel has believes Jude Bellingham was “lucky” to not be sent off during the team’s comfortable 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Latvia at Wembley. After picking up an early booking in the first half, Bellingham appeared fortunate not to have been shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Raivis Jurkovskis. Tuchel quickly reacted, bringing Phil Foden on in place of the Real Madrid playmaker.

Tuchel, who had urged Bellingham to be ‘more disciplined’ last week, was not convinced by the midfielder’s first yellow card but conceded to ITV Sport: “We were a bit lucky, and took straight away the decision to not take the risk and take him off.”

The ex-Chelsea boss felt his side improved from their win over Albania in his debut game last week, singling out Reece James for praise after the right-back marked his return to the national fold after two years with the opening goal.

Tuchel said: “It was not an easy match, we had to unlock it, but there were a lot of good things – another clean sheet and we created a lot of chances from set-pieces. OK, we needed a free-kick to unlock it, but in general I’m happy with the attitude and energy and desire to do the stuff that we want.”

Elaborating on James, who has previously thrived under Tuchel’s guidance at Chelsea, scoring with an exquisite curling free-kick, the German boss praised: “I know Reece and I know the foot and the quality the boy has. He is amazing, he has every right to be proud and happy and satisfied with his performance.”

Speaking to ITV Sport after opening his England account, James said: “It’s been a long time. I’ve had a frustrating two-and-a-half years and I was so happy to get called up for my country again. I saw the wall and I felt I could bend it around, and thankfully I managed to hit the back of the net.”

James also spoke highly of his former Chelsea manager Tuchel: “His ideas are clear, his goals and his targets. He set them out from the minute he came in, and we have one objective. It starts with this international and we have to keep on building right up to the World Cup.”

England skipper Harry Kane added: “He’s fantastic. I think he’s settled in straight away, it’s a real pleasure to have him as a coach – the energy he’s brought, and the passion. I know we’ll get better as we go on.”