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Jude Bellingham, the England star, publicly disagreed with his German coach Thomas Tuchel after the latter described his team's performance against Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals as not being of a high standard, indicating that the "Three Lions" were lucky in crucial moments.

Bellingham scored two goals for England to win 2-1 over Norway, advancing to the World Cup semifinals.

Tuchel said after the match: 'I think we were lucky in crucial moments. I'm not saying we were lucky to win, but we were lucky in crucial moments that could have gone the other way.'

The England coach added: 'We were lucky not to be two goals down after making a big mistake while playing out from the back, and we were also lucky at the end. Even if the decision was correct, you always need some luck when the referee disallows a goal.'

He continued: 'I don't think it was a high-level match, and I think we have played better games. We are now in the semifinals, which is of course the most important thing, but the coach inside me still believes we need to play better football.'

For his part, Bellingham responded to his coach's comments, saying: 'Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in such conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa, and Alexander Sørloth. Facing a team like this is not easy.'

Tuchel - Bellingham

The Real Madrid star added: 'I think we tried to create a positive atmosphere, and we must maintain it as we head into the semifinal. I cannot praise my teammates enough.'

He concluded: 'You won't win every match by passing the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win the hard way, and that's what we did again against Norway.'

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