Jude Bellingham continues to carry England at the World Cup as Argentina await in the semi-final.
Alan Pardew has drawn parallels between England hero Jude Bellingham and former Newcastle United enforcer Cheick Tiote.
Bellingham continued his stunning World Cup campaign with a brace against Norway on Saturday. He now sits alongside Harry Kane at the top of the Three Lions goalscoring charts.
England played poorly but the Real Madrid star’s quality proved the difference between the two sides in Miami. A mammoth clash with Argentina now awaits Bellingham and Co on Wednesday.
Alan Pardew draws Check Tiote parallel
Despite his match-winning double, a lot of the post-game debate centred around Bellingham’s comments. Thomas Tuchel hit out at his team for their performance - with England’s No.10 pointing towards the heat and conditions in a swipe back at his manager.
Former Toon boss Pardew used the late Tiote and his dominating form in 2011-12 when explaining how best to manage Bellingham. He told talkSPORT. “I remember at Newcastle, in particular, Cheick Tiote was just, and bless his heart, because he’s gone now, but he was having a season where he was unbelievable.
“Nobody could compete with him. A bit like Bellingham now, he was in such a zone. As a manager you’re thinking ‘I don’t want to disturb him. I don’t want to knock him out of this mode’.
“You’ve got the piano gloves on, just pushing him out there, not saying too much to him, not giving him too much information or trying to overload him. You’re just letting him go and be himself. I think that’s where Bellingham is.”
Jedi Master vs apprentice
Pardew also used a Star Wars reference when discussing Bellingham vs Lionel Messi in the semi-final. He added: “When you look at Argentina, Messi gets them out of situations with incredible talent. Bellingham is doing that for us. It’s a real meeting of the Jedi Master and the young Jedi this one (England vs Argentina).”
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