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Jude Bellingham was fortunate to escape a second yellow card for this foul on Latvia’s Raivis Jurkovskis - Getty Images/Harry Murphy
Thomas Tuchel said he subbed Jude Bellingham to save him from a red card that could have turned the World Cup qualifier against lowly-ranked Latvia on its head.
Bellingham was booked in the first half and his foul on Raivis Jurkovskis was “a bit lucky” not to receive a second yellow card while the score was 1-0, according to the England manager.
Tuchel replaced the Real Madrid midfielder with Phil Foden in the 67th minute and England immediately extended their lead through Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze.
“We had a situation with Jude Bellingham that reminded us of the things we know – that any moment you can have a yellow or red card and everything is upside down so we took the decision and the substitutions were very strong,” said Tuchel, who spoke with Bellingham as he came off and took his place on the bench.
“I think the first yellow card was harsh as he was dribbling and then suddenly had a yellow card. We had some nasty fouls from the opponent but the referee just decided to look away.
“It felt a bit strange we went into half-time with a yellow card and none of our opponents. The second one, it was possible, it would have been harsh but it would have put the game upside-down.
“Straight away we decided to take him out and get Phil ready and changed him. In general you could see the huge effort Jude put in during the first game, he did not feel so fresh which was my observation. He was getting stronger and stronger again but I didn’t want to take the risk and took him off.”
Tuchel became the first England manager to win his first two competitive games since Fabio Capello in 2008, with the games against Albania and Latvia seeing five unanswered goals.
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Thomas Tuchel was sufficiently concerned about Bellingham playing on a yellow that he replaced him with Phil Foden - Getty Images/Harry Murphy
“I’m very happy because of the players mainly,” added Tuchel. “Organisation was top, but the players made the difference like always, they reminded me instantly why I was excited about this job.
“We had good days on the pitch but also off the pitch, a positive atmosphere. Everyone is proud the play for England and everyone wants to come on. We need these type of matches with the tension of World Cup qualifiers to learn from each other. Overall we have two wins and two clean sheets and no big chances, it was a good start.”
Reece James scored the opening goal with a free-kick and barely celebrated the strike, later saying he felt frustrated in the last three seasons with his injury record limiting his action.
“It’s been a long time, I’ve had a frustrating two and a half years and I’m happy to be called up and play,” James said. “I saw the wall and thought I could bend it around. Thankfully it hit the back of the net. I was a bit surprised it hit the net, looking at the replay it was tough for the keeper to get there.”
On Tuchel, James said players have bought into his aim of winning the World Cup. “His ideas are clear, his goals and targets, he set them out from the minute he got in. We have one object and that starts from this international break and we need to keep building,” he added.
Kane scored his 71st goal for England from another Declan Rice cross.
“We spoke about those areas in the box, the width of the goal is where the most assists come from, making little runs in there. We had to be patient. We used the wide players to get down the sides and get numbers in the box. Dec thought he could make the difference with that run and then he put in a great cross across the six-yard box,” said Kane.
“The manager is fantastic. He’s settled in straight away and it’s a real pleasure to have him as a coach, that energy he has brought and passion. Tactical analysis for each game has been top top drawer. It’s the first camp and we know we’ll get better as well. He’s pleased and we’re pleased to have him.”
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