Speaking after the match, which was delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms in Florida, Tuchel took full responsibility for the confusion. The German coach revealed that the usual protocol for designating penalty takers had been disrupted by the high volume of changes made during the friendly encounter, with usual penalty-taker Harry Kane having been taken off the pitch.
“There was just a lot of substitutions and then it was not clear anymore the order of the takers,” Tuchel explained to reporters. “Anthony was the second taker. It was not on the wall, normally it’s on the wall because we know we only have five substitutes, there were already a lot of substitutes, so we had a bit of a miscommunication. It was our responsibility and we needed to do it verbally.”
Tuchel then commented on Bellingham’s work ethic in midfield. He said: “We made very clear the DNA of us, off the ball, the intensity, the pressing. I wanted to see Jude in the combination today for the first time with Harry (Kane), Elliot (Anderson), and Declan (Rice) in the centre of the game. I know what Morgan (Rogers) gives us there. I just saw it so many times. It was the first time for Jude. He buys into these ideas. He has to, and he loves to do it, and that’s part of our game. And he did it like everyone else on a high level.”