Jude Bellingham was handed a stern red card warning by Thomas Tuchel after he avoided getting sent off in England's win over Latvia.
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Bellingham picked up yellow late in first halfSlid in again in 56th minute to stop JurkovskisTuchel took him off for FodenFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Goals from Harry Kane, Reece James, and Eberechi Eze fired the Three Lions to a 3-0 win over Latvia at Wembley. However, the Real Madrid midfielder, who was already booked in the first half for a late challenge, was fortunate not to receive a second yellow following a risky tackle on Raivis Jurkovskis in the 56th minute.
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Tuchel promptly substituted Bellingham for Phil Foden to avoid any further risk of being reduced to ten men. After the dust had settled, Tuchel acknowledged that Bellingham’s first booking was debatable but admitted that the second challenge could have warranted another yellow.
WHAT TUCHEL SAID
"I think the first one [yellow card] was a bit harsh because he [Bellingham] was dribbling and we suddenly had a yellow card. It felt strange at half-time that we had a yellow and none of our opponents did," Tuchel told reporters.
"But the second one was possible [yellow.] It would have been harsh, but straight away we changed him. We saw the huge effort Jude put in in the first game and he didn't seem so fresh in my observation. But the substitution, I didn't want to take the risk [of a red card], so I took him off."
DID YOU KNOW?
Despite the emphatic scoreline, England’s performance lacked gusto and Tuchel admitted that there is still room for improvement: "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. There is still room to improve. But two wins, two clean sheets and we didn't allow any big chances, so there are a lot of positives to take away."