Jude Bellingham delivers humble message to Man Utd, Liverpool & Man City stars after England win

Jude Bellingham was full of humble praise for his England teammates on Tuesday night after the Three Lions beat Wales at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. The former Birmingham City midfielder helped his side to a 3-0 win over their UK neighbours with a brilliant performance of his own, but he soon switched the attention to his co-stars.

The first half was a fairly even contest as Wales were resilient, but the second period saw Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford and Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden tear the Dragons’ defence apart. Rashford scored directly from a free-kick to give England the lead in the 50th minute before Foden tapped home from a Harry Kane cross just two minutes later.

Rashford, who scored his second of the game just over 15 minutes after his first with a mazy dribble and powerful effort, was the subject of pure delight from his fellow Three Lions star. “Rashy got player of the match? I’m so happy for him, what a performance,” Bellingham told BBC Sport.

“He was brilliant you know. When he gets the ball and he’s got that freedom to take people on, his end product is so good as well. In a big game like this there’s pressure on a free-kick and the way he’s delivered is brilliant. Deservingly player of the match,” Bellingham continued.

England showed a big improvement from their rather dismal display against the USA just four days prior, especially in midfield. Against the USMNT there was a real struggle to progress up the field, but things were so much better on Tuesday. “In the first game it was a really good attacking display, the second game we defended our box well, and today we got a mix of both,” Bellingham explained.

“I’m really happy as that’s the aim - to make sure we tied them both up and we did. We had high energy. We realised in the game the other day [vs the USA] we probably weren’t aggressive enough, we were a little bit too passive. It was important for us to be a bit more on the front foot.

“We’ve got loads of depth in attacking areas and whoever comes on seems to make an impact. Whether it’s from the start or from the bench, the change in personnel doesn’t really affect the style or performance of the team, which is quite rare. [Jordan] Hendo brings that intensity every time he plays. He gives you that confidence to go and press. I can push on and then Dec [Rice] can be aggressive.

“We won a lot of balls really high up the pitch which was key for us retaining the pressure. I’m really happy for Phil [Foden] tonight. He’s had quite a lot of pressure on him the last few days with all the attention, but he’s just shown how good he is again.”

Bellingham and his England teammates topped Group B with Tuesday’s victory and will be back in action on Sunday, November 30. Kicking off at 7pm, the Three Lions take on Group A runners-up Senegal, who have impressed despite the absence of former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane.