Gary Neville showered Jude Bellingham with praise (Image: ITV)
Gary Neville insisted that Paul Gascoigne, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney were never able to “rip up” a World Cup in the manner Jude Bellingham has managed, following his commanding display against Norway in Saturday evening’s semi-final. The tournament has proven remarkably productive for the 23-year-old, who has now netted six goals in as many matches for England.
The Real Madrid midfielder’s extraordinary talents were fully evident at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, as he once again came to England’s aid. Thomas Tuchel’s side fell behind early in the first-half when Andreas Schjelderup found the back of Jordan Pickford’s net with a cross from out wide. Yet on the cusp of the interval, Bellingham restored parity for his country.
Having collected the ball inside the area from Anthony Gordon, Bellingham exhibited sublime footwork and formidable physical presence to resist the Norwegian defence before finishing coolly beyond Orjan Nyland. With the match destined for extra time following a stalemate after 90 minutes, Bellingham then edged his nation ahead – and ultimately secured victory – by being perfectly positioned at the crucial moment.
Morgan Rogers unleashed a powerful effort from distance, which Nyland could only push back into the heart of his own penalty area. From that moment, Bellingham demonstrated an instinctive poacher’s touch to pounce on the loose ball and finish from close range.
Norway found themselves unable to breach England’s defensive line for the remainder of the match, with the Three Lions withstanding a relentless barrage to claim a 2-1 victory. And while it was an outstanding collective display – with Dan Burn and Djed Spence putting in particularly heroic shifts in the closing stages – it was Bellingham who garnered the lion’s share of the praise from Neville.
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Jude Bellingham stole the show for England (Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
Speaking after the final whistle from the ITV studio, the Manchester United legend said: “I’ve seen Gascoigne go to a tournament and rip it up. I’ve seen Michael Owen go and do the same. I’ve seen, obviously Wayne Rooney in 2004.
“But I’ve never seen a player for England in my lifetime have an impact on a tournament like Jude Bellingham. This is very special, what we’re watching. Absolute superstar; he’s everything and more out there for England right now. And to be fair, Dan Burn just transported League 2, Newport vs Barrow, into the World Cup quarter-final at the end; it was brilliant.”
Despite a somewhat muted response to England’s overall display, Tuchel was equally swift to heap praise on the Stourbridge-born star for his match-winning exploits. He said: “Enough said, he does it every single match. World class.”
Meanwhile, Bellingham spoke to ITV following the victory, lauding his side’s resolve when the pressure was at its greatest.
He said: “Character, perseverance even when things weren’t working, we found a way to win the game again. Whether it’s in 90 or 120, we’ll give it everything we’ve got.
“And you saw that there; everyone was ready to come on, came on and smashed it so yeah, so proud of this team. Once again in a World Cup semi-final.”
When quizzed about his close-range tap-in that sealed the victory, he added: “I think it’s an important goal. It’s put us through to the semi-final. It has to be right up there. I told him [Rogers] to keep going because I knew he was going to make an impact in the game.
“I’ve scored loads of those kind of goals, to be fair. The keeper had a worldie but he was unlucky with that one, the way that it popped up, and I was just lucky to be there to put it in.”
Turning his attention to the contribution of Elliot Anderson, Spence and Burn – all newcomers to this stage of the tournament – Bellingham continued: “Warriors. They didn’t look like they were new to it.
“All three of them and whoever else came on, just top level. There’s one thing to have quality, in which, all of the lads in this group do, but you don’t know how much mentality and how much heart they’ve got until we’re in a situation like that, and they’ve shown themselves.”