When everyone has stopped accusing a television journalist of treason for asking a couple of questions he had to pose in order to do his job properly – and ITV’s Gabriel Clarke is very good at his job – maybe they ought to think about a question he didn’t ask.Clarke’s exchange with Thomas Tuchel after England’s dramatic extra-time World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami on Saturday night was a far cry from the bland, watchful question-and-answer sessions that often ensue in the aftermath of matches.Tuchel was impassioned and eloquent. He was also clearly frustrated by an England performance that was big on guts and grit but lacking in fluency and cohesion. He wanted more and he was right to want more.‘The result is fantastic,’ Tuchel said, ‘but I’m not happy with the way we played. The commitment is there, we made life very difficult with how we played. Sloppy, not enough precision, not enough repetitions, lots of technical mistakes. We were lucky today.’All correct. All honest. Jude Bellingham was equally forthright and eloquent when Tuchel’s observations were put to him. England’s outstanding player at this tournament, Bellingham queried whether Tuchel understood how difficult it was to play against opponents such as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in heat so stifling it took the breath away.This is an aside but I loved Bellingham for that. I loved his spur-of-the-moment defiance and his fearlessness. He is the best thing that has happened to England for a long time. If, once, his body language and his attitude to team-mates were questioned, he has matured frighteningly fast. When Harry Kane retires, Bellingham is England’s next captain. Thomas Tuchel was impassioned and eloquent after the Norway game. He was also clearly frustrated by a performance that was big on guts and grit but lacking in fluency and cohesion I loved Jude Bellingham’s spur-of-the-moment defiance and his fearlessness. He is the best thing that has happened to England for a long timeThere is no problem with any of this. Tuchel and Bellingham have been through a lot worse, you may recall. A little bit of creative tension between a manager and his players is not necessarily a bad thing in the build-up to England’s biggest game of football since the World Cup semi-final against West Germany 36 years ago.But here’s the question Clarke didn’t ask Tuchel, perhaps because he thought it might be impertinent: If England were…
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2026-07-13 12:25:40
