England goalscorer Jude Bellingham has responded to the “chip on his shoulder” after the Three Lions' 4-2 win over Croatia at World Cup 2026.
The midfielder netted the third for Thomas Tuchel's side after half-time, in a star performance for England in which he was one of his side's best players.
Here's everything Bellingham said to the BBC…
Everything Jude Bellingham told the BBC after England 4-2 Croatia
On the “noise” around his place in the England side…
It's good to kind of put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to help us win football matches.
It was a great team performance in the second half. In the first half, we still got the intensity right, but we weren't quite there with the ball. In the second half, I think we put it all together nicely. To contribute and help my team and my country is one of the biggest honours, and regardless of the noise outside, that honour doesn't change for me at all.
On his goal…
Yeah, it was a good pass from Elliott [Anderson] that put me in a good position. I took it into the box and, yeah, it was a pretty normal goal really, except the pass was top level. I'm grateful to them for lifting me up into that position. Obviously, it's been a bit of a tougher season for me, but I feel fresh, sharp, and strong. I'm ready to give everything that I have, so it's nice to hear those kind of things.
On arriving whether he's arrived to camp with “added impetus”…
A little bit, yeah. I think I've got a bit of a chip on my shoulder, haven't I? And you play best when you're like that. I think that helps me a lot to find that focus early in the game and to find that intensity.
I know it's part of being a footballer. I don't begrudge or hold a grudge against anyone who says bad things about me because sometimes I do deserve it. Today, I think it was nice to try and show people and remind them what I'm about.
On England's second half…
I was speaking to [Harry Kane] after the game and I said that has to be our standard now; that has to be the minimum level. That second-half intensity and what we do with the ball has got to be the bare minimum we build from.
The first half you can kind of accept and write off because at least we were still intense and did some of the right things. But obviously, with a lot of lads making their World Cup debuts and stuff like that, it's a big stage. The second half is what we're really about.
