Jude Bellingham delivered a pointed "Whatever" when informed of Thomas Tuchel's stinging assessment of England's performance — moments after scoring both goals in a tense 2-1 World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway.

The Real Madrid midfielder's brace made him the second-youngest player in history to score in back-to-back World Cup knockout matches, behind only Pelé. His heroics send England into the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026, where they will face the winner of Argentina versus Switzerland.

Tuchel's sharp words

Despite overseeing a winning result, England manager Thomas Tuchel was blunt in his post-match verdict. Speaking to ITV, he said: "We made life very difficult for ourselves today. I'm not happy with the performance."

Tuchel acknowledged that "the commitment was there," but stressed he was disappointed "in every sense." He singled out technical sloppiness and a lack of pace in England's play as his chief concerns: "Sloppy. A lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough."

Bellingham fires back

When ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke relayed those remarks to Bellingham — who had just been named Man of the Match — the midfielder's response was characteristically direct: "Whatever. Whatever. It's difficult out there... the players put in a very tough shift."

Bellingham redirected his praise toward his teammates rather than engaging further with the criticism. "My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who were out there," he said.

Asked what defined England's performance on the night, Bellingham pointed to resolve above all else. "Perseverance when things weren't working. Whether it's 90, 120, we'll give everything we've got," he said.

History back in England's reach

The result sends England back to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2018, when they fell 2-1 to Croatia in Russia. With Bellingham in this form, the Three Lions will fancy their chances of going one step further this time around.