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Former Liverpool star John Barnes reckons the situation surrounding Jude Bellingham and Thomas Tuchel amounts to nothing more than a "storm in a teacup" as he dismissed suggestions of animosity between the pair.
Bellingham rejoined the Three Lions setup for the most recent international fixtures, having been omitted from previous squads, but grabbed attention on Sunday during the victory over Albania. The Real Madrid midfielder was withdrawn in the closing stages, moments after England had established a 2-0 advantage.
Bellingham appeared visibly frustrated upon his substitution as Tuchel chose to introduce Morgan Rogers. His response dominated post-match discussion, with the England manager stating he would examine the incident.
Speculation has emerged regarding potential discord between the Real star and Tuchel, though the England boss maintains there are no problems between them.
Barnes believes the matter has been overblown and supported Tuchel's willingness to make difficult choices.
He told the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: "It’s a storm in a teacup. I think it’s been exaggerated. No player is happy to come off, but I don’t think he overreacted. People are saying he was being petulant when he came off, I never saw that.
"The manager is right. When you talk about finishers now, rather than substitutes, they’re all equally as worthy. You’re part of a squad, and if you’re coming on for Jude Bellingham, then you must be a very good player. Jude has to understand that, and he does.
"He’s a great player and very important to England, but so are all the players. Tuchel is trying to lay the law down to say I’m in charge and I make all the decisions, which is good because at times I think Gareth [Southgate] took easy decisions.
"If you take Jude Bellingham or Harry Kane off and you don’t win, then you’re going to get criticized.
"Tuchel is not like that, he’ll make decisions that he thinks are right, winning or losing, which managers have to do. All this is very good if you’re winning. If you’re not winning, and you make a substitution, that’s when it becomes a bigger issue."
Tuchel has declared that "behavior is key," with the former Chelsea manager adopting a philosophy that prioritises the collective over individual superstars.
He has already stated that Bellingham, Harry Kane, and Phil Foden could not feature together in the starting XI, arguing it would disrupt the team's equilibrium.
During Sunday's game, when Bellingham was withdrawn, the Champions League victor had already received a booking.
Tuchel revealed before the fixture that he would address his squad about preventing unnecessary dismissals following Cristiano Ronaldo's red card on Thursday, which could rule him out of Portugal's opening two World Cup encounters.
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