Thomas Tuchel didn’t want to take ‘risk’ as Jude Bellingham ‘lucky’ to avoid red card

Having already been booked in the first half, Bellingham looked fortunate to escape a second yellow for a mis-timed challenge

Thomas Tuchel admitted Jude Bellingham was “lucky” to escape a red card during England’s 3-0 win over Latvia and confirmed that he withdrew the Real Madrid midfielder as it would have been a “risk” to keep him on.

Having already been booked for a foul on Dmitrijs Zelenkovs as half-time approached, Bellingham looked fortunate to escape a second yellow for a mis-timed challenge on Raivis Jurkovskis shortly after the restart, and was replaced by Phil Foden.

Tuchel, who two days before facing Latvia at Wembley had called on Bellingham to be “more disciplined”, questioned the first yellow card but told ITV Sport: “We were a bit lucky, and took straight away the decision to not take the risk and take him off.”

Thomas Tuchel says he took Jude Bellingham off to avoid the risk of the midfielder being sent off (PA Wire)

And despite England’s dominance in the 3-0 World Cup qualifying win, the German head coach later explained that he did not want to take the gamble of the match being turned “upside down” had Bellingham been sent off for another foul.

“I think the first one was a bit harsh because I felt that he was dribbling and suddenly we had a yellow card,” Tuchel said. “We had some nasty fouls from the opponent, where the referee just decided to look away. It felt a bit strange that we go into a half-time with a yellow card and then none of our opponents (did) but OK.

“And, yeah, the second one, I think it was possible, it felt that it was possible. It would have been harsh but it would have put the game upside down. Of course, straight away, we decided to take him out, got Phil (Foden) ready and changed him.

“I think, like in general, you could see today the huge effort that Jude put in in the first game (against Albania). I think you could see he did not feel so fresh. That was my observation, I’m not sure if he will agree. With the substitution, he was getting stronger and stronger again, but I didn’t want to take the risk and took him off.”

Tuchel said England were ‘a bit lucky’ that Bellingham was not sent off (PA Wire)

Tuchel believed he saw improvement on England’s win over Albania in his first match in charge last week, and reserved special praise for Reece James, who opened the scoring after a two-year absence from the national team.

Tuchel added: “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.”

Referring to James, who previously played under Tuchel at Chelsea, and opened the scoring with a delicious curling free-kick, Tuchel added: “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.”

Reece James scored a stunning free-kick

James relished his return to international football, opening the scoring before second-half strikes from Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze sealed a second straight win.

James told ITV Sport: “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 said the German has left his squad in no doubt about what he expects from them during the qualification process and beyond.

“His ideas are clear, his goals and his targets,” said James. “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 captain Harry Kane also paid tribute to Tuchel, adding: “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.”