Bellingham, England's engine: seven goals on the road to the semis
Jude Bellingham was England's beacon at the 2026 World Cup. With seven goals, the tournament's third-top scorer, he dragged the team to the semi-finals with braces and decisive moments, including extra time in the quarter-final against Norway.
If England reached the 2026 World Cup semi-finals, it was largely thanks to Jude Bellingham. The midfielder carried the team on his back and answered with goals in the big moments: he finished as the tournament's third-top scorer with seven, behind only Mbappé (10) and Messi (8).
His were not meaningless goals but the kind that appear when the match weighs most. In the last 16 against Mexico (2-3) he scored a brace to knock out the hosts, and in the quarter-final against Norway (2-1) he decided again in extra time, carrying England to a semi-final that had eluded them for years.
His partnership with Harry Kane —also among the top scorers, with six— gave England a double attacking threat very few sides could neutralise. Bellingham provided the late runs from midfield; Kane, the penalty-box instinct.
The English dream ended in the semis, where Argentina came back in the closing minutes (2-1). But the tournament confirmed Bellingham as one of the great footballers of his generation and the heart of this England. See his goals and the World Cup ranking on our site.