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England manager Thomas Tuchel dismissed speculation of a rift with Jude Bellingham after the midfielder reacted to criticism following the win over Norway. Tuchel said the media exaggerated the issue and confirmed they cleared the air with the squad. Calling their relationship stronger than ever, he insisted England is united and ready for the World Cup semifinal against Argentina.

Atlanta: England boss Thomas Tuchel said there is no issue between him and Jude Bellingham after the midfielder's response to the German's criticism of the performance against Norway. The coach added that he and Bellingham are "close than ever before."

After England beat Norway 2-1 in the quarterfinal, Tuchel wasn’t happy about the team’s match performance and said the Three Lions were "sloppy, lucky" and not good enough in "every sense". Bellingham seemed a little annoyed by what Tuchel said about the team's performance and said "Yeah, well, whatever. It's difficult out there - it's a tough shift."

Tuchel revealed he spoke to the squad to clear the air the following day and claims there are no issues whatsoever with Bellingham ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final against Argentina.

“I wonder who blows these things up, eh? So, there is nothing to blow up and if it’s blown up, it’s blown up in the media, of course,” he told talkSPORT. “What do you expect of a player that just played 120 minutes and gave literally everything if you shorten the comment of his coach, if you don’t tell him that ‘he was world class’, if you don’t tell him that ‘he has world class actions’. If you just cut all this and tell him ‘oh, your coach said you were sloppy’ what do you expect?”