FIFA WC 2026: Jude Bellingham joins Maradona in exclusive club with back-to-back World Cup knocks | Football News


FIFA WC 2026: Jude Bellingham joins Maradona in exclusive club with back-to-back World Cup braces
Jude Bellingham showed off his skills by scoring four goals in the knockout stage at the World Cup, a feat reminiscent of Diego Maradona’s feat in 1986. (Photo/ANI)

Forty years ago in Mexico. Diego Maradona he scored twice against England and twice against Belgium in consecutive World Cup knockout games. On Sunday in Miami, Jude Bellingham did the same.Bellingham became the first player since Maradona in 1986 to score two or more goals in a row at the World Cup, completing back-to-back goals against Mexico in the Round of 16 at Azteca and Norway in Saturday’s quarterfinal at Hard Rock Stadium. England won 2-1, securing their place in the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990.The comparison to Maradona is as surprising as it is fair. In 1986 at the same World Cup in Mexico, Maradona scored twice against England in one of the most famous matches ever played, including the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century and followed it up with two more against Belgium in the semifinal. No player in the 40 years since has accomplished the feat in consecutive games in the same tournament. All the way to Bellingham.Against Norway, Bellingham made the biggest difference but it took every bit of World Cup drama it had to deliver before it delivered.Norway struck first. In the 36th minute, Andreas Schjelderup shot from the right and returned to the back of the net to surprise the England team who dominated the game. Then there came a time when people were arguing a lot during the competition. Norway’s goal kick appeared to hit the cable of an aerial camera before falling to Elliot Anderson, who quickly fed Bellingham for a narrow lead just before the break. According to the rules of the competition, play should have been stopped to allow the ball to drop, but the foul was not spotted, prompting angry protests from the Norwegian bench.The game went to overtime. And then, in the third minute of overtime, Bellingham delivered. Morgan Rogers fired in a shot which Orjan Nyland failed to catch and Bellingham fired back to fire England ahead. It was his sixth goal of the game, pulling him level with teammate Harry Kane and putting him two behind Golden Boot leaders Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi.Jordan Pickford was also the hero throughout, saving Haaland in the first half to keep England level. By the second half of extra time, a tired Haaland, who had been kept scoreless for the first time all season, was replaced by Jorgen Strand Larsen, marking the end of Norway’s biggest threat.England are in the semifinals of the World Cup. They will face either Argentina or Switzerland in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday. And leading the charge is a young man from Stourbridge who is making the kind of history that legends only make.



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