The World Cup group stage game between England and Ghana was supposed to be a straightforward path to the knockout rounds for the Three Lions. Instead, it turned into a sideline shouting match between Jude Bellingham and Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz that nearly boiled over before the second half started.
The goalless draw in Boston kept England on track to advance, but the real story happened at halftime. Bellingham got into it first with Ghana assistant coach John Paintsil, then Queiroz came over and things escalated fast. Teammate Morgan Rogers had to pull Bellingham away. England boss Thomas Tuchel stepped in. Noni Madueke was also seen exchanging words with Queiroz. It was a mess.
The whole thing started with a tackle Bellingham made on Jerome Opoku near the end of the first half. It was a bad one — Bellingham caught the Ghana defender with a follow-through, then shoved him. No card was shown, but that didn’t sit well with the Ghana bench.
What Bellingham said about it
After the game, Bellingham didn’t sugarcoat it. He admitted the tackle was silly. But he said the real issue was the Ghana bench trying to get him booked.
“I was trying to try to win the ball, and I followed through a little bit and caught the lad,” Bellingham said. “I spoke to him after, and then their bench jumped up trying to get me a yellow card.”
He also mentioned that he recognized Queiroz from his time as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United. Said he has nothing but respect for him. But, you know, competitive edge and all that.
Queiroz had a different take
Queiroz didn’t hold back either. He said he went over to tell Bellingham to cool it because the tackle could have been a second yellow or even a red. But Bellingham responded with some choice words, and that’s when things got heated.
“First, my intention was to tell him to cool down with that tackle that he did,” Queiroz said. “He had a bad reaction with some bad names and that’s why the story started.”
Queiroz added that Bellingham’s swearing cranked up the tension. But he also shrugged it off as part of the game. “Football is not dancing in a saloon with tuxedos. It’s not a show.”
For what it’s worth, no cards were handed out for the tackle or the argument that followed.
Tuchel’s take was pretty simple
Tuchel defended his star player in the postgame presser. Said Bellingham was standing up for himself and the team, and that there’s no problem with that.
“No one got under our skin,” Tuchel said. “It was an exchange of emotions, and of course Jude stood up for himself and for us as a team.”
When a reporter asked about Queiroz’s claim that Bellingham could have been sent off, Tuchel laughed it off. “I could not see any red card for us today.”
England still controls its own path in Group L. But if these two teams meet again later in the tournament, watch the sidelines. Nobody’s forgetting this one anytime soon.
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