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For Bellingham to aims to earn his place once again into the English strongest squad, the smart move to cut out the nonsense. His reaction after noticing that the substitute board was going up following a night of uneven play in the match against Albania was not good enough.

"I prefer not to blow it out of proportion but I stick to my words 'behaviour is key' and consideration for the players who substitute on," commented the coach. "Substitutions happen and you need to comply when you're on the field."

The midfielder must understand. There was no need for a tantrum. The captain had only moments earlier made it the Three Lions 2-0 up in a meaningless qualifier, the game had six minutes to go and he, following an inconsistent display, was just shown a yellow for fouling an opponent. This was hardly a debatable decision. Indeed it might have been reckless for Tuchel to leave Bellingham on because there was a chance the midfielder would be suspended of the opening game of the World Cup by picking up a second yellow card.

Turning the Spotlight to Himself

However, the player made himself the center of attention. There was no disguising the young midfielder's frustration upon understanding that he would be substituted for another player. He threw his arms up and while he exchanged a handshake after making his way to the sideline there was no doubt that the head coach was not impressed.

This represents the hurdle facing Bellingham. He praised his teammate for delivering the cross for Kane to score his second goal, but the rest was self-defeating. There was no chance protesting was going to reverse the substitution. The coach has talked so much about respecting team hierarchies and the value of showing proper conduct.

Facing Examination

He, not included in the previous squad, has faced close inspection upon his return to the fold recently. Essentially he was being assessed and his actions haven't benefited him by reacting to coming off the pitch as England wrapped up a perfect qualifying campaign by defeating a spirited effort from Albania.

The System and the Setup

It means opinions are divided on whether the team operate most effectively including Bellingham. The evidence here was not definitive. There was experimentation by the coach at the start. He has provided the squad a clear system in recent months, building with a defensive midfielder, a No 8, a No 10 and specialist wingers, but it felt different in this match. The young defender was handed his international debut, Wharton was in the starting lineup at this level and the role of John Stones as an auxiliary midfielder gave a similar look to City's 2023 treble winners.

A Game of Two Halves

Bellingham had ups and downs. He set up a shot for Eze during the second half but often looked too desperate to impress. There were a lot of hurried and errant passes. A pointless clash against an opponent early on. The team looked disjointed during most of the second period. One Albania chance resulted from he lost the ball cheaply. His booking occurred when he lost the ball by Broja and brought down the former Chelsea striker.

Depth Makes the Difference

Ultimately England’s depth was decisive. The coach brought on the Manchester City player, who looked better suited to the role in which Bellingham operated earlier in the match, and Saka. In time Saka whipped in a corner kick for Harry Kane to open the scoring. It was a reminder that set pieces will be crucial in the upcoming tournament.

Relationship Not Broken

Nevertheless, the focus was on Bellingham. The quality of the winger's delivery for Kane’s header was a little lost due to the fuss of the player change. When the match concluded, the focus was on Bellingham. The coach approached from behind and guided the Real Madrid midfielder to acknowledge the travelling England fans. Their connection is not broken. Tuchel is not willing to give up on Bellingham yet. Yet whether the coach is prepared to give him a starring role is still uncertain.