England coach Thomas Tuchel said he substituted Jude Bellingham to prevent the midfielder from receiving a red card.
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Tuchel benched Bellingham to prevent red card
England secured a 3-0 victory over Latvia in their World Cup qualifier at Wembley, with goals from Reece James, Harry Kane, and Eberechi Eze.
However, the Three Lions almost played the last 30 minutes with 10 men after Bellingham’s reckless challenge on Raivis Jurkovskis.
Referee Orel Grinfeeld opted not to caution Bellingham, who had already received a yellow card for a similar tackle in the first half.
However, with the risk of another foul, Tuchel decided to substitute him to prevent a potential red card.
“We were a bit lucky,” Tuchel said.
“We had a situation with Jude Bellingham where anything can happen and suddenly have a yellow-red card.”
“Then everything could turn upside down, so that’s why I made the change from the bench.”
“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.
“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.”
Prior to England’s win over Latvia, Tuchel asked Bellingham to be a bit “more disciplined” to make an impact in the decisive moments.
Perfect start for Tuchel
Nonetheless, England stayed top of Group K and maintained Tuchel’s perfect start as coach.
Despite struggling against Latvia’s defensive approach, Tuchel said he was still pleased with his winning start.
“There is still room to improve,” he said. “But two wins, two clean sheets and we didn’t allow any big chances, so there are a lot of positives to take away.”
“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.”
