Dhe English national soccer player and coach Gareth Southgate praised Dortmund’s Jew Bellingham after reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. “He’s one of the best youngsters, definitely. I already praised him yesterday before the game. He’s a fantastic player. He has everything it takes,” said captain Harry Kane after the 3-0 win over African champions Senegal.
The 19-year-old Bellingham contributed the assist to the first goal and also excelled with his ball control and his duel, with which he carried the initially weak Englishmen along.
“His biggest strength is his mentality. The acceptance gave Jude more freedom. He used that exceptionally well,” said Southgate. Bellingham started the tournament in defensive midfield alongside Declan Rice, but now played in front of Rice and Jordan Henderson as playmaker of sorts against Senegal and Wales (3-0).
Kane called the midfielder “extremely important. He’s a good guy. He still has many years ahead of him. It’s great that he’s playing for us,” said the Three Lions captain.
Phil Foden, who was involved in two goals, also praised the BVB star: “I think he can become the best midfielder in the world.” At Dortmund, Bellingham has already matured into a regular player and a leader.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane was named the best player of the game. His personal dry spell ended in the fourth World Cup game: the 29-year-old had not scored a goal in the preliminary round, but had prepared three. He finally scored his 52nd international goal in first-half added time, just one short of Wayne Rooney’s record.
“As a striker, scoring goals is what you want to do. That’s one of the best feelings. I had to be patient, but today was the day. I feel good. I hope this is just the start for me,” said the 29-year-old. Alongside him, Jordan Henderson and Bukayo Saka also scored.
With eleven goals at World and European Championships, Kane has now surpassed Gary Lineker, who has ten goals. “Today we had scorers in all positions. It’s great for me personally. But the most important thing was another good team performance,” said Kane, who previously shone as an assist in the 6-2 win against Iran and 3-0 against Wales. On Saturday (8 p.m. CET, in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup and on MagentaTV), the runner-up in the European Championship will face world champion France.
