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For Bellingham to hopes to fight his way back into the English best starting eleven, the smart move to cut out the nonsense. His reaction when he saw that his number was about to come up following a night of uneven play in the match against Albania was unacceptable.

"I don’t want to make more out of it but I hold to my words 'attitude matters' and respect for the players who come in," commented the coach. "Decisions are made and you have to accept it when you're on the field."

There is a lesson for Bellingham. It was unnecessary for a strop. The captain had just put the Three Lions two goals ahead in a meaningless fixture, with only six minutes remaining and Bellingham, following an inconsistent display, was just shown a yellow for bringing down Armando Broja. This could scarcely be called a controversial substitution. Indeed it might have been reckless for Tuchel to keep Bellingham on the pitch given that it was possible Bellingham would be suspended of the initial fixture of the World Cup by getting a another booking.

Drawing Attention Upon Himself

However, the player turned the spotlight on himself. There was no disguising the player's frustration as he realized that his replacement was ready for a teammate. He threw his arms up and even though he exchanged a handshake on his way to the bench it was obvious that the manager was displeased.

Here lies the test facing Bellingham. He praised Rashford for delivering the cross for Kane to score his second goal, but his other actions was harmful to his cause. It's not like arguing was going to change Tuchel’s mind. Tuchel has talked so much about honoring the team structure and the value of behaving correctly.

In the Spotlight

Bellingham, not included in the previous squad, has been under scrutiny since coming back to the team in the current camp. In effect he has been on trial and he hasn't helped his case by reacting to being taken off as England rounded off a flawless qualification run by overcoming a spirited effort from their opponents.

The Coach's Plan

As a result the jury is out on how the squad operate most effectively when Bellingham plays. What we saw was open to interpretation. There was experimentation from the manager early on. He has given the team organization and direction lately, using a No 6, a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder and specialist wingers, but the approach changed against Albania. Jarell Quansah was handed his international debut, the midfielder started for the first time for England and the positioning of John Stones as an auxiliary midfielder meant there was faint echo to the Manchester club's historic treble-winning side.

A Game of Two Halves

Bellingham was a mixed bag. He set up a shot for his teammate in the latter period but at times seemed overly eager to shine. There were a lot of poorly executed passes. An unnecessary confrontation against an opponent early on. England's play was messy for much of the second half. A scoring chance for the opponents followed Bellingham gave the ball away. The yellow card came after an opponent took the ball to Broja and brought down the attacker.

Squad Strength Shows

Ultimately the squad's strength made the difference. Tuchel threw on the Manchester City player, who seemed more comfortable to the role that Bellingham had played earlier in the match, and the Arsenal winger. Eventually Saka whipped in a corner for Harry Kane to score the first goal. It was a reminder that dead-ball situations will be crucial next summer.

Bridge Still Stands

However, the focus was on Bellingham. The quality of Rashford's cross for Kane's goal was somewhat overlooked in the ridiculousness of the substitution incident. At the end, the focus was on the midfielder. Tuchel walked up to his side and pushed the Real Madrid midfielder in the direction of the travelling England fans. Their relationship remains intact. The coach isn't ready to discard him at this stage. But if Tuchel is inclined to offer him the central position is not guaranteed.