Kane defends Bellingham: ‘It’s easy to try and create this division’

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14 July 2026

Harry Kane has defended his team-mate

Jude Bellingham

following comments he made after the win over Norway in the

World Cup

quarter finals.

Bellingham, who scored twice to secure a 2-1 victory for

England

, was asked afterwards about

Three Lions

boss T

homas Tuchel being unhappy with his side’s performance

despite the win.

“Maybe, or maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions against Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa, Sorloth,” Bellingham said when asked whether Tuchel’s criticism of the performance demonstrated his high standards.

But

captain Kane says it is important to understand the context behind

Bellingham’s response

Speaking to BBC Sport, Kane said: “When you’re playing a game, especially a game like that, and you get asked the question five minutes after the final whistle when he hasn’t know what the manager has really said, it’s like, what do you want Jude to say?

“We’d just been through a battle. It was really tough out there. I think it’s easy to try and create this division. It always seems to be, maybe an English mentality and English thing to do at these major tournaments, but it’s the complete opposite.

“The group is where we are because of our togetherness, not just the players but the coaching staff and everyone who is involved.

“Sometimes things get made out to be much more than they really are.”

Kane also says the squad understand Tuchel’s criticism, but praised the mentality of the group, as Tuchel also did after the win over Norway.

“I think we understand it,” Kane said. “I think players on the pitch know more than anyone when you’re not playing well. That is part and parcel of football.

“We understand what the boss meant and the boss has been so complimentary about us as a group.

“He said as well, from the mentality point of view, which is sometimes the hardest part to get, we’re at the highest, highest level and we have been for a period of time now.”

“He wears his heart on his sleeve and I think people appreciate that as well. The honesty, the emotion, the feeling you get. All of that, when he talks, it’s never scripted. It’s just purely what comes into his head.

“That’s what makes him who he is. He’s one of the best managers in the world for a reason and his character is a big part of that.”

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From Tuchel’s outcast to England’s kingpin, how Jude Bellingham silenced his critics at the World Cup

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Bellingham rebukes Tuchel after brace fires England into World Cup semi-finals

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Harry Kane rubbishes claims of rift in England squad after Tuchel-Bellingham World Cup clash

After Bellingham attack: Kane responds to Tuchel criticism

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