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If Jude Bellingham wants to earn his place once again into England’s strongest squad, he would be wise to do away with the nonsense. His response after noticing that his number was going up after a match of mixed performance in the match against Albania was not good enough.

"I prefer not to make more out of it but I hold to my words 'attitude matters' and respect for the teammates who come in," commented the coach. "Substitutions happen and you must accept them as a player."

There is a lesson for Bellingham. It was unnecessary for a tantrum. Kane had recently scored to make the Three Lions 2-0 up in a meaningless match, the game had six minutes to go and Bellingham, following an inconsistent display, had just been booked for fouling the Albanian striker. This was hardly a controversial substitution. Actually it would have been unwise for Tuchel to leave Bellingham on considering it was possible Bellingham would be suspended of the first match of the tournament by receiving a another booking.

Drawing Attention to Himself

Yet Bellingham drew all eyes toward himself. There was no disguising the young midfielder's annoyance upon understanding that he would be substituted for another player. He flung his arms in the air and while he accepted the coach's hand after making his way to the bench there was no doubt that the head coach did not appreciate it.

This represents the hurdle facing Bellingham. He praised Marcus Rashford for providing the assist for the captain to nod home his second of the night, but everything else was counterproductive. It is not as if protesting was going to change Tuchel’s mind. Tuchel has stressed repeatedly honoring the team structure and the necessity of behaving correctly.

Under Scrutiny

Bellingham, left out of the team last month, is being watched carefully after returning to the team this month. Practically he was being assessed and he hasn't helped his case with his response to being taken off as England completed a perfect qualifying campaign by defeating a feisty challenge from their opponents.

The System and the Setup

This implies it's unclear on if the team perform optimally with Bellingham in the team. The evidence here was open to interpretation. There was experimentation by the coach in the beginning. Under him, England have gained the squad organization and direction lately, using a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box player, a playmaker and dedicated wide players, but it felt different versus Albania. Quansah was handed his international debut, Adam Wharton made his first start internationally and the positioning of John Stones as a part-time midfielder meant there was faint echo to City's historic treble-winning side.

A Game of Two Halves

Bellingham had ups and downs. He created an opportunity for his teammate after the break but at times seemed too desperate to impress. There were a lot of rushed, misplaced passes. A pointless clash with an Albania midfielder at the beginning. England were ragged for much of the second half. One Albania chance resulted from he lost the ball cheaply. His caution came after he lost the ball from Broja and brought down the attacker.

Depth Makes the Difference

Finally the squad's strength was decisive. Tuchel threw on Phil Foden, who seemed more comfortable to the position occupied by Bellingham earlier in the match, and Saka. Eventually Saka provided a corner kick for Kane to open the scoring. This served as a reminder that corners and free-kicks will be crucial in the upcoming tournament.

Connection Remains

Nevertheless, Bellingham was the story. The brilliance of the winger's delivery for Kane’s header was somewhat overlooked due to the fuss of the Rogers substitution. When the match concluded, all eyes were on Bellingham. Tuchel came over behind him and directed the player in the direction of the away supporters. Their connection is not damaged. The coach isn't ready to discard him at this stage. However, whether he is willing to offer him the central position remains in doubt.