Jude Bellingham has credited his mother Denise for providing the inspirational team talk that propelled England into the World Cup semi-finals. The 23-year-old Real Madrid star scored twice as the Three Lions came from behind to eliminate Norway 2-1 in Miami, leveling him with Harry Kane on six goals at the tournament.
Mum's advice on discipline
Bellingham revealed that his mother had been urging him to control his emotions and avoid a second yellow card that would have ruled him out of the semi-final. "My mum's been telling me all week to watch my language, watch my tackles, watch my face, watch my emotions. So yeah, I think she drilled it into me all week about being careful of that yellow card," he said.
He praised the referee for allowing respectful communication, adding: "Credit to the referee, he was class, he still let you communicate in a respectful way. A lot of referees don't let you do that. So I think when I get the balance right, and there's a referee who's willing to listen, it makes it a lot easier."
Exceeding expectations
Bellingham admitted his World Cup performances have surpassed his own expectations. "Probably a bit beyond, to be honest. I'm a confident boy, but I don't think you go to bed at night dreaming about games like that," he said. He praised his teammates for their resilience: "My God, the effort of those lads in there. I'm so proud of how they keep battling, regardless of what situations we find ourselves in."
Disagreement with Tuchel's assessment
After his double strike, Bellingham appeared to disagree with England manager Thomas Tuchel's candid evaluation of the team's display. However, Bellingham later suggested Tuchel's remarks were misinterpreted. When asked if Tuchel's comments indicated more potential, Bellingham responded: "Maybe, but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sorloth. That's not an easy team to play against."
Bellingham emphasized the importance of winning ugly: "You're not going to win every game, popping the ball and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we've done that again tonight." He also noted that the victory was harder than beating Mexico, citing the psychological challenge: "The game split into loads of different facets. Some of it's technical, tactical, and for me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity."
