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Should Bellingham hopes to earn his place back into England’s best team, it would be smart to do away with the dramatics. His response upon realizing that the substitute board was about to come up following a night of mixed performance in the match against Albania was not good enough.

"I don’t want to blow it out of proportion but I stand by my words 'behaviour is key' and respect for the teammates who substitute on," commented the coach. "Decisions are made and you must accept them as a player."

The midfielder must understand. It was unnecessary for a strop. Harry Kane had recently scored to make England two goals ahead in a dead rubber match, with only six minutes remaining and Bellingham, who had not played particularly well, had just been booked for bringing down an opponent. It was not a questionable change. In fact it would have been foolish for the head coach to leave Bellingham on given that it was possible the midfielder would make himself ineligible of the initial fixture of the competition by receiving a second yellow card.

Turning the Spotlight on Himself

Yet Bellingham turned the spotlight on himself. There was no disguising the young midfielder's disappointment when he clocked that he would be substituted for another player. His arms went up in exasperation and while he shook Tuchel’s hand after making his way to the touchline it was clear that Tuchel was not impressed.

This represents the hurdle facing Bellingham. He applauded Marcus Rashford for delivering the cross for Kane to score the team's second, but the rest was self-defeating. There was no chance complaining was going to alter the decision. Tuchel has talked so much about respecting team hierarchies and the value of acting professionally.

Under Scrutiny

The midfielder, left out of the previous squad, is being watched carefully upon his return to the squad this month. In effect his place has been in question and his actions haven't benefited him through his behavior to coming off the pitch as the national team rounded off a perfect qualifying campaign by seeing off a feisty challenge from Albania.

The System and the Setup

This implies the jury is out on how the team function at their best including Bellingham. The performance was not definitive. Tuchel tried new things from the manager early on. He has provided the team organization and direction lately, building with a holding player, a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder and specialist wingers, but the approach changed against Albania. The young defender was made his England debut, the midfielder was in the starting lineup internationally and the positioning of Stones as a part-time midfielder gave a passing resemblance to the Manchester club's 2023 treble winners.

Mixed Performance

Bellingham was a mixed bag. He set up a shot for his teammate after the break but frequently appeared too desperate to impress. Several poorly executed passes. A pointless clash with a rival player at the beginning. England were ragged for much of the second half. One Albania chance came after he lost the ball cheaply. The yellow card occurred when an opponent took the ball by Broja and committed a foul on the former Chelsea striker.

Substitutes Decide

Finally the squad's strength proved crucial. Tuchel introduced Foden, who appeared better suited to the position occupied by Bellingham during the first half, and Saka. Later Saka whipped in a corner kick for the captain to break the deadlock. This served as a reminder that dead-ball situations will play a key role next summer.

Relationship Not Broken

However, all talk was about Bellingham. The brilliance of Rashford’s assist for the second goal was somewhat overlooked amid the drama of the substitution incident. When the match concluded, everyone was watching him. The coach approached from behind and pushed the Real Madrid midfielder towards the travelling England fans. Their connection is not broken. The coach isn't ready to abandon Bellingham yet. But if Tuchel is inclined to grant him centre stage is still uncertain.