Photo by Angelica Reyes on Unsplash
Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville said he has never seen an England player like Jude Bellingham. Neville, now a TV and YouTube pundit in his home country, said that although he played with Paul Gascoigne, Wayne Rooney, and Michael Owen, Bellingham was “at the highest level”. The Real Madrid star had scored six goals at World Cup 2026 by the time England progressed to the semi-final against Argentina.
23 years old and a superstar
Neville said Bellingham wasn’t England’s next superstar, but their current superstar. He called Bellingham’s performances “absolutely monumental” and praised both his attacking and defensive efforts.
In the group stage, Bellingham scored in England’s opening match against Croatia and again in their third against Panama. In the Round of 16, he scored a brace against Mexico, before deciding the quarter-final against Norway.
From the start of the tournament, England were among the favourites, along with Spain, France, Argentina, and Brazil. Bellingham and Harry Kane’s goals meant that England’s odds shortened as they progressed. Before the semi-finals, most sportsbooks had France as favourites, followed by Spain, then England and Argentina. Thousands of fans around the world, including in Africa, would be watching and betting. Sportsbooks are often hosted by the same platforms that offer casino games Malawi.
England and Argentina – a rivalry that goes back 60 years
England’s rivalry with Argentina predates Bellingham’s time by several decades. Things first became heated at Wembley in 1966, when England beat Argentina 1-0 in the quarter-finals on their way to World Cup glory.
To this day, Argentina claim that Geoff Hurst’s goal was offside, and that was just one controversy that day – Argentina’s captain Antonio Rattin was sent off after only 33 minutes. He received a yellow card for tripping Bobby Charlton, and another for arguing with the referee. The match was delayed for nearly eight minutes with Rattin refusing to leave the pitch.
George Cohen, in England’s defence that day, reflected on the match in 2009. He told the Guardian that tackling was “fine”, but some of Argentina’s “snidey” actions like spitting and pulling players’ ears and the hairs on their necks were intimidation tactics.
Twenty years later in Mexico City, Argentina got revenge in a 2-1 quarter-final win. That game is most famous for the “Hand of God”: Diego Maradona’s winning goal, where he fooled the referee into thinking he had headed the ball. But later in the match, Maradona also scored a sensational solo goal, which BBC has called probably the greatest in World Cup history.
Twelve years after that famous brace, England met Argentina again, this time in the Round of 16 at France 1998. That match is famous for another sending off: David Beckham petulantly kicked out at Diego Simeone. Michael Owen scored another famous goal and gave England a 2-1 lead, but Argentina levelled before winning on penalties.
The man who has been compared to Maradona throughout his entire career, Lionel Messi, was finally set to face England for the very first time in 2026. Neville and millions of English fans were hoping it was Bellingham, not Messi, that would decide the headlines.
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