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If Jude Bellingham hopes to earn his place back into the English strongest starting eleven, he would be wise to cut out the unnecessary reactions. His response upon realizing that he was going up after a match 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 'conduct is crucial' and respect for the teammates who come in," stated Tuchel. "Decisions are made and you have to accept it when you're on the field."

The midfielder must understand. There was no need for a strop. The captain had just put the national team leading by two in a dead rubber match, there were six minutes left and Bellingham, after a below-par performance, was just shown a yellow for a foul on the Albanian striker. This could scarcely be called a debatable decision. Indeed it would have been unwise for the head coach to not substitute him considering there was a chance the midfielder would be suspended of the opening game of the tournament by getting a second yellow card.

Drawing Attention Upon Himself

Yet Bellingham drew all eyes toward himself. There was no disguising the 22-year-old’s annoyance as he realized that he was going to make way for a teammate. His arms went up in exasperation and although he accepted the coach's hand on his way to the sideline it was clear that Tuchel was displeased.

This represents the hurdle that Bellingham must overcome. He congratulated his teammate for providing the assist for the captain to nod home his second of the night, but everything else was harmful to his cause. It is not as if protesting was going to reverse the substitution. The German has talked so much about honoring the team structure and the importance of behaving correctly.

Facing Examination

Bellingham, left out of the previous squad, has been under scrutiny after returning to the team this month. Essentially he has been on trial and he hasn't helped his case through his behavior to his substitution as England wrapped up a flawless qualification run by seeing off a feisty challenge from the Albanian team.

The Coach's Plan

This implies it's unclear on how the squad perform optimally when Bellingham plays. What we saw was not definitive. Tuchel tried new things from Tuchel in the beginning. He has given the team structure and clarity in recent months, using a holding player, a central midfielder, a playmaker and dedicated wide players, but it felt different versus Albania. Quansah was handed his international debut, Adam Wharton started for the first time at this level and the use of the defender as a part-time midfielder meant there was faint echo to Manchester City’s historic treble-winning side.

A Game of Two Halves

Bellingham had ups and downs. He made a chance for Eze after the break but often looked trying too hard. There were a lot of poorly executed passes. A pointless clash with a rival player early on. England's play was messy during most of the second period. A scoring chance for the opponents resulted from Bellingham gave the ball away. His booking was shown after an opponent took the ball by Broja and committed a foul on Broja.

Substitutes Decide

Ultimately the squad's strength was decisive. Tuchel introduced Foden, who appeared more comfortable to the spot that Bellingham had played in the opening period, and Bukayo Saka. Eventually Saka provided a corner kick for Kane to open the scoring. It highlighted that corners and free-kicks will be crucial in the upcoming tournament.

Bridge Still Stands

Still, though, the focus was on Bellingham. The quality of Rashford's cross for the second goal was somewhat overlooked in the ridiculousness of the player change. After the final whistle, all eyes were on Bellingham. Tuchel walked up from behind and guided Bellingham to acknowledge the English fans. Their connection remains intact. Tuchel hasn't decided to give up on the player just yet. But if the coach is prepared to give him the central position is not guaranteed.