Penalty controversy in the England squad: What happened between Bellingham and Gordon?

An unexpected situation involving Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon occurred during England's final preparation match before the World Cup. The Real Madrid star was set to take a penalty awarded in the second half, but had to hand the ball to the Barcelona winger following instructions from the coaching staff. This was reported by Goal.com .

This incident, which took place during the 3-0 victory against Costa Rica, caught everyone's attention. Bellingham initially took the ball, intending to extend the lead. However, after receiving instructions from the bench, he passed the ball to Gordon. Anthony Gordon took advantage of the opportunity and made it 2-0.

After the match, England head coach Thomas Tuchel commented on the misunderstanding on the pitch. According to him, this was not a case of player selfishness, but a result of a communication error by the coaching staff. Due to the many substitutions made, the order of penalty takers became confused.

“There were many substitutions in the team and the order of takers became a bit unclear. Anthony was the second-choice penalty taker. Usually, this list is posted in the dressing room, but this time we had to explain the situation verbally. It was our responsibility,” the German specialist said.

Tuchel also specifically praised Jude Bellingham's hard work in midfield. He highlighted that the young star played alongside Harry Kane, Elliot Anderson, and Declan Rice for the first time and adapted quickly to the team's play. The coach added that he is in no rush to make final decisions regarding the squad before the tournament.