England's young star midfielder Jude Bellingham has been hailed as a 'future England captain' after footage emerged of him acting well above his age to support his captain Harry Kane following his penalty miss against France. Kane missed the spot kick to bring England level but within moments 19-year-old Bellingham showed his support.
Mason Mount won England's second penalty of the match after being bundled over in the box by French defender Theo Hernandez. Kane had already convincingly put a penalty away earlier in the second half and was given the opportunity to do so again in the 84th minute of the match.
However, he uncharacteristically blazed the penalty over the bar with the French players running past him to celebrate with his Tottenham teammate Huge Lloris. Most England players put their head in the hands, with Harry Maguire dropping to his haunches, but not the incredibly impressive Bellingham, who has wowed fellow players and pundits alike with his mentality beyond his age.
Video shared by ITV Football showed Bellingham running towards his captain shouting his encouragement, before putting an arm around his shoulder and intimately speaking to him to make sure he was ready to keep fighting to the end of the game. ITV described Bellingham as having "that elite mentality" with thousands sharing and commenting on this to share that sentiment.
Former BBC Football Focus and BBC Sport present Dan Walker was among many to highlight the actions of Bellingham despite his very young age. He shared the clip simply saying: "Jude Bellingham is 19."
@Jaden_Wasp said: "Jude Bellingham. True leader at 19. Incredible attitude. Cant help but admire a kid going to the very top."
Many suggested Bellingham could be the next England captain after Kane, with @DannyPatterson7 tweeting to say he is “the future of this side”.
Twitter user @TheRug85 added: “A young man with maturity and mentality way beyond his years. A future captain.”
Interviewed after the game, Bellingham defended Kane, telling ITV: “H was really unlucky with the penalty – he has scored tonnes for us in the past.”
He also Tweeted his heartbreak at England being knocked out of the tournament at the Quarter Final stage: "This one will be painful for a very long time. The better team on the night went out, that’s football sometimes. Regardless, I’m so proud of the effort, fight and performance from my teammates over the course of the whole tournament.
"Thank you also to the fans for the love and support these past few weeks, stick with us even in this low moment as we use this experience to continue to grow as a team for future tournaments. Keep the faith, our time will come."
For more of today's top stories click here.
READ NEXT:
- Stood in the freezing cold and speaking into a phone, Greater Manchester's ambulance boss delivers a desperate plea
Mum who brought misery to her victims spared jail as her daughter, 2, is 'severely ill with Strep A'
'Utterly reckless' swimmers caught on camera moments after swimming in freezing Salford Quays
