Jude Bellingham was unable to contain his emotions after England’s 3-1 defeat by Senegal on Tuesday night, chasing down the fourth official before taking a swipe at a water cooler.
The Real Madrid star was still reeling from the decision to disallow his later equaliser for a contentious handball in the lead-up to his strike.
Bellingham, who had to be shepherded back onto the pitch by captain Harry Kane to applaud the England fans, booted a cooler after lashing a ball into the air after the final whistle.
It was a frustrating night all round for the World Cup hopefuls, just 366 days before the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Thomas Tuchel, appointed on an 18-month contract in January with the stated aiming on winning the competition, made ten changes to the side that earned a narrow win against minnows Andorra on Saturday.
The German had hoped to see a marked improvement in performance at the City Ground but instead suffered his first loss as England boss – the nation’s first-ever defeat to an African side.
Jude Bellingham is pictured kicking a water cooler by the side of the pitch in anger
Bellingham was unable to contain his emotions after England ‘s 3-1 defeat by Senegal on Tuesday night
The Real Madrid star booted a cooler after lashing a ball into the air after the final whistle
Kane’s 73rd international goal in the seventh minute of the match got England off to the perfect start before goals from Ismalia Sarr and Habib Diarra just after the hour gave the visitors the lead their display merited.
The controversial call of the game came with just a few minutes of normal time to play when Bellingham thought he had grabbed a late equaliser. However, following a VAR review referee Stephanie Frappart was advised to take a second look at the incident.
She subsequently chalked off the effort even though replays showed that, despite the ball hitting Levi Colwill’s arm, it was not intentional nor was he the scorer – conditions that would normally merit cancellation.
Kane slammed the decision which he was adamant was incorrect, while former England striker Ian Wright labelled the call ‘pathetic’.
Tuchel was also seen confronting Frapport and her team of officials in the middle of the pitch at full-time.
Bellingham’s distain for drinks coolers dates back to the final of the European Championship later summer, when he kicked out at the container after England’s dramatic late defeat.
On that occasion after the contest, the midfielder stormed off the pitch and kicked the cooler in frustration and could be seen sat on the England bench looking towards the pitch, appearing to be in a very thoughtful mood.
Bellingham eventually returned to the pitch where he was consoled by England Kane and manager Gareth Southgate.
England were denied a late equaliser for a handball in the lead up to Bellingham’s late strike
Thomas Tuchel was seen confronting Frapport and her team of officials in the middle of the pitch at full-time
Harry Kane slammed the decision which he was adamant was incorrect, while former England striker Ian Wright labelled the call ‘pathetic’
Tuesday’s defeat raises some concerns over the direction of Tuchel’s squad who has precious little time and even fewer quality opponents before next year’s World Cup.
‘We’ll we’re not going to panic but for sure, we know that we need to be better,’ Kane told ITV post-match.
‘There are some ideas that are new for the guys, we have new players coming into the team who don’t have experience at the international level.
‘It’s a mixture of things but there are no excuses. We need to find it quickly, we’re not going to meet again for a few months but the World Cup is going to come around very fast so every camp is really important right now.’
