It is fair to say that in the wider world of football the all too regular international breaks are not welcomed by a huge number of fans who naturally prioritise their club and the domestic game over everything else, but for those that do proudly follow the Three Lions it is very much job done for England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
On Sunday evening England faced Albania in their final Group K qualification game and in securing a 2-0 victory with a brace coming from Harry Kane, it wrapped up a perfect and flawless qualification campaign with eight victories from eight games, 22 goals scored and clean sheets kept in every match. The only aim for the German gaffer upon being handed the role by the Football Association was to lift the World Cup, and for fans who enjoy a flutter and use options like online sports betting nj they will definitely be looking at the odds as optimism will now be even higher that with phase one now behind him, he can go on and do just that.
As the 52 year old now gears up for the next stage, there are plenty of questions that are still up in the air and one of the main topics of conversation for fans will be in debating just what role Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham will play.
The 22 year old talent started his first game for Tuchel since last June, having been left out of the last camp as the gaffer made it clear that he was the boss, and it appears that there may be another clash brewing as the player was visibly unhappy at being substituted late on against Albania. Whilst Tuchel was trying to play down the incident in his post game interviews, he was quite clear that 'behaviour is key' as was 'respect' towards team mates and that he would be reviewing the incident.
It should be said that despite waving his arms and gesticulating that he did not agree with the substitution, Bellingham did shake Tuchel's hand when he finally left the pitch, but given the previous history here between the pair this is undoubtedly going to be rehashed and poured over by the press, pundits and commentators as the World Cup nears and fans will be hoping that it does not become an unwanted distraction, or begin to cause any real problems within the dressing room.
With the expected heat and temperature challenges that the United States, Canada and Mexico tournament will bring, squad rotation is going to be key for any of the teams that are hoping to reach the later stages of the competition and given Bellingham's talents he should have a massive part to play, but he will have to accept that he will start some games and then be on the bench for others as workloads are managed. You never expect a player to be happy at being substituted but there is a way of behaving in those moments and we will have to see if it now does drive an additional wedge between the two, and what the fallout may be then.
