Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham scored his fifth goal of the 2026 World Cup in style just before the first half of the quarterfinals against Norway ended, equalizing with a beautiful dribble from the top of the box and a cool left footed finish past Orjan Nyland, whom he is familiar with from La Liga as Sevilla's goalkeeper.
The strike furthers Bellingham's bid as the Golden Ball of the 2026 World Cup, as he is scoring at the rate of a striker and with the class of a legend. Every time he steps onto the pitch for the English national team in a big tournament, he makes it clear that he is the face of the country, with all due respect to a living legend in striker Harry Kane.
Right after Bellingham's strike confirmed the 1-1 for England, his former teammate - for one year only - had more high praise for him. Toni Kroos tweeted "Big time jude", and those three words were all the 2014 World Cup winner and German national team legend (though they never respected him enough in his own country) needed to send the Madridistas into a frenzy.
Jude Bellingham is only gaining clout
Kroos has always touted Bellingham highly on social media and in interviews, and he constantly refers to the England international as a "big time player". Given there were some in the English media who laughably tried to slag off his attitude or state that he should not be starting for the Three Lions, it seems like it took people way too long to realize that Jude is a natural winner and world class beyond belief.
But Kroos worked with Bellingham in his first season in 2023/24 from his old Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund, and he was almost a Pichichi winner as a midfielder whlie leading Real Madrid to multiple Clasico victories en route to a La Liga crown - and a Champions League triumph over his old club BVB.
Jude Bellingham has only increased his clout with experience and opportunity with the England national team, and the hero of the 2024 European Championship as England reached the Final is now having an even bigger tournament and the run of his life with the Three Lions here in 2026. When he comes back to Real Madrid at the end of the World Cup, Bellingham, like frenemy Kylian Mbappe, will do so with somehow even more clout to his name.
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