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East Rutherford — A sea of red-and-white-clad England supporters serenaded Jude Bellingham with The Beatles' "Hey Jude" after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Panama, a fitting soundtrack for the player who has become a focal point of England's World Cup campaign.
Bellingham delivered the breakthrough England desperately needed on Saturday, scoring once and setting up Harry Kane in the victory that secured top spot in Group L and a potentially smoother path through the tournament's knockout rounds.
After a laboured first hour during which England dominated possession but created little, Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, forcing home Bukayo Saka's corner from close range despite being tightly marked.
Five minutes later he clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home for an historic 11th World Cup goal for England.
The joyous postgame moments were a stark contrast to his difficult season at Real Madrid marked by injury issues and inconsistency.
He has also experienced a complicated relationship with England supporters, drawing criticism from some sections of social media.
The 22-year-old addressed the criticism after England's 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening match, in which he also scored, saying: "Personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to helping us try to win games."
On Saturday, England spent an increasingly tense hour probing for an opening and finding little reward.
Panama's stubborn resistance was beginning to test the patience of supporters and raise uncomfortable questions about England's cutting edge before Bellingham provided the answer.
"First job achieved," he said. "We came here to do it in sections and we got through the pre-games well and we achieved the first job — we got through the group and won it.
"We know what level we are at and what we want to achieve and we did in the second half. Every day we have to try to improve and it's up to us to do that."
England manager Tuchel hailed Bellingham's contribution.
"Good performance, happy he is in this kind of shape and everyone did what they needed to do, and Jude was a big part of that," Tuchel said.
Bellingham was pleased he was able to set up Kane to become England's all-time leading goal scorer at World Cups with 11.
"He continues to raise his level and it is incredible," Bellingham said. "It's everything he deserves. You see the effort he puts in as captain and how he leads us. His quality speaks for itself, he is the best."
Bellingham also became the youngest European player to feature in four consecutive major tournaments — World Cups and European Championships — at this event.
Croatia 2, Ghana 1: At Philadelphia, Nikola Vlasic headed in Luka Modric's 83rd-minute corner to lift Croatia to a second-place finish in Group L. Vlasic's perfect finish off the inside of the left post came 10 minutes after Derrick Luckassen had pulled Ghana level on his international debut, with half the time in between spent on a VAR review determining whether he was onside.
Petar Sucic scored early for Croatia (2-1-0, 6 points), who needed only a draw to reach the last 32. Claiming the second-place spot guaranteed the 2022 third-place finishers a meeting with the second-placed team in Group K, most likely Portugal or Colombia, on Thursday in Toronto.
"We're not going to be euphoric about this," said Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic. "We're going to prepare for the next match and try to win the next match as well."
Modric, 40, played his first full 90 minutes of the tournament and had arguably his best match while becoming the oldest player in World Cup history to contribute an assist.
"Luka was truly fantastic," Dalic said. "Just as he was throughout his career, he was like that tonight. And I'm very glad that this is how it turned out tonight."
Ghana (1-1-1, 4 points), which finished third in the group, were already assured of qualification and will meet the winners of Group K, Portugal or Colombia, on Friday in Kansas City.
Sucic gave Croatia a deserved lead after 31 minutes with a long-range strike into the bottom left corner.
"I think first half, we had the ball but we didn't do a lot with it," Luckassen said of his Ghana side. "We were just playing around. … And second half, we pressed forward, we tried to put the balls in, and it was a lot better in the second half."
Ghana was indeed much improved in the second half, but Luckassen's 73rd-minute goal was its first effort on target.
Ernest Nuamah delivered an inswinging free kick over Croatia's defensive line and Luckassen clearly came from an onside position to knock the ball into the net at the back post.
Referee Drew Fischer was summoned to the monitor, where he determined that Kwasi Sibol, who was in an offside position, did not interfere in the play.
Ghanaian joy was short-lived, however, as Modric's corner sailed beyond the penalty spot towards the back post, where Vlasic was given space to meet it with the side of his head and nod it downwards in the one place goalkeeper Benjamin Asare could not save it.
Luckassen was only on the field because manager Carlos Queiroz spared his three players on yellow cards.
"It was a nice feeling," Luckassen said of his goal. "But I'm a bit disappointed about the loss."
Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo limped off in the late stages after suffering an apparent ankle injury, but was able to return to complete the 90 minutes.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: World Cup roundup: 'Hey Jude' rings out as Bellingham leads England
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Bellingham delivered the breakthrough England desperately needed on Saturday, scoring once and setting up Harry Kane in the victory that secured top spot in Group L and a potentially smoother path through the tournament's knockout rounds.
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After a laboured first hour during which England dominated possession but created little, Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, forcing home Bukayo Saka's corner from close range despite being tightly marked.
Five minutes later he clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home for an historic 11th World Cup goal for England.
The joyous postgame moments were a stark contrast to his difficult season at Real Madrid marked by injury issues and inconsistency.
He has also experienced a complicated relationship with England supporters, drawing criticism from some sections of social media.
The 22-year-old addressed the criticism after England's 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening match, in which he also scored, saying: "Personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to helping us try to win games."
On Saturday, England spent an increasingly tense hour probing for an opening and finding little reward.
Panama's stubborn resistance was beginning to test the patience of supporters and raise uncomfortable questions about England's cutting edge before Bellingham provided the answer.
"First job achieved," he said. "We came here to do it in sections and we got through the pre-games well and we achieved the first job — we got through the group and won it.
"We know what level we are at and what we want to achieve and we did in the second half. Every day we have to try to improve and it's up to us to do that."
England manager Tuchel hailed Bellingham's contribution.
"Good performance, happy he is in this kind of shape and everyone did what they needed to do, and Jude was a big part of that," Tuchel said.
Bellingham was pleased he was able to set up Kane to become England's all-time leading goal scorer at World Cups with 11.
"He continues to raise his level and it is incredible," Bellingham said. "It's everything he deserves. You see the effort he puts in as captain and how he leads us. His quality speaks for itself, he is the best."
Bellingham also became the youngest European player to feature in four consecutive major tournaments — World Cups and European Championships — at this event.
More Saturday games
Croatia 2, Ghana 1: At Philadelphia, Nikola Vlasic headed in Luka Modric's 83rd-minute corner to lift Croatia to a second-place finish in Group L. Vlasic's perfect finish off the inside of the left post came 10 minutes after Derrick Luckassen had pulled Ghana level on his international debut, with half the time in between spent on a VAR review determining whether he was onside.
Petar Sucic scored early for Croatia (2-1-0, 6 points), who needed only a draw to reach the last 32. Claiming the second-place spot guaranteed the 2022 third-place finishers a meeting with the second-placed team in Group K, most likely Portugal or Colombia, on Thursday in Toronto.
"We're not going to be euphoric about this," said Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic. "We're going to prepare for the next match and try to win the next match as well."
Modric, 40, played his first full 90 minutes of the tournament and had arguably his best match while becoming the oldest player in World Cup history to contribute an assist.
"Luka was truly fantastic," Dalic said. "Just as he was throughout his career, he was like that tonight. And I'm very glad that this is how it turned out tonight."
Ghana (1-1-1, 4 points), which finished third in the group, were already assured of qualification and will meet the winners of Group K, Portugal or Colombia, on Friday in Kansas City.
Sucic gave Croatia a deserved lead after 31 minutes with a long-range strike into the bottom left corner.
"I think first half, we had the ball but we didn't do a lot with it," Luckassen said of his Ghana side. "We were just playing around. … And second half, we pressed forward, we tried to put the balls in, and it was a lot better in the second half."
Ghana was indeed much improved in the second half, but Luckassen's 73rd-minute goal was its first effort on target.
Ernest Nuamah delivered an inswinging free kick over Croatia's defensive line and Luckassen clearly came from an onside position to knock the ball into the net at the back post.
Referee Drew Fischer was summoned to the monitor, where he determined that Kwasi Sibol, who was in an offside position, did not interfere in the play.
Ghanaian joy was short-lived, however, as Modric's corner sailed beyond the penalty spot towards the back post, where Vlasic was given space to meet it with the side of his head and nod it downwards in the one place goalkeeper Benjamin Asare could not save it.
Luckassen was only on the field because manager Carlos Queiroz spared his three players on yellow cards.
"It was a nice feeling," Luckassen said of his goal. "But I'm a bit disappointed about the loss."
Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo limped off in the late stages after suffering an apparent ankle injury, but was able to return to complete the 90 minutes.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: World Cup roundup: 'Hey Jude' rings out as Bellingham leads England
Continue reading...
