When England defeated Senegal, Jude Bellingham was instrumental in the midfield. Jordan Henderson was praised too by England manager Gareth Southgate.
England has just defeated France to get to the quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup. Harry Kane moved his shooting boots to a new location. Jordan Henderson Pickford had recorded his eighth shutout of the competition. Raheem Sterling was flying home at the time.
However, Jude Bellingham was the subject of the first query that Gareth Southgate had to address during his press conference at Al Bayt Stadium.
Beginning with the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund player, he said, “I think the key element is the mentality. The mindset, passion, and willingness to learn and grow are the things that make the difference, and he has all of that, according to the obvious amount of work we’ve done with young players over the years.
The manager of England continued, “I don’t think we could have predicted how quickly he would mature. That has increased even in the past six months, or even the past three months.
Several people, including Southgate, praised Bellingham for the influence he had the night he became the second English youngster to start a World Cup knockout game after Michael Owen in 1998. “Goodness me, Jude Bellingham is extremely good,” tweeted Gary Lineker. He is the team’s captain.
Luke Shaw told a TV interviewer in the post-game mixed area that, in his opinion, “the world is his oyster and he can be anything he wants.” Even more vehement was Phil Foden’s tone. “He’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen, but I don’t want to big him up too much because he’s still young. He plays with no weaknesses. He is going to be the world’s best midfielder, in my opinion.”