Rio Ferdinand picked out Elliot Anderson as his man of the match following England’s comeback victory over Norway, despite Jude Bellingham’s heroics in the World Cup quarter-final. Andreas Schjelderup beat Jordan Pickford with an incredible strike from a tight angle to put Norway in front in the 36th minute, with England left shell-shocked after a strong start in Miami. But the Three Lions picked themselves up and found an equaliser on the stroke of half-time through Bellingham, who breezed past several Norway defenders before unleashing an emphatic left-footed finish beyond Orjan Nyland. The two teams had looked to be heading for extra-time as the final whistle beckoned, only for Bellingham to score again – this time on the rebound – to send Thomas Tuchel’s men through in dramatic fashion.
Ferdinand’s surprise choice
The match-winning double moved Bellingham level with Harry Kane on six goals for the tournament, behind only Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. For the fourth time this summer, Bellingham came away with the man-of-the-match award, with the Real Madrid star seemingly on a mission to bring England’s 60-year wait for the world title to an end. However, ex-England international Ferdinand felt Bellingham’s midfield colleague Anderson may have just edged him with a ‘great’ performance at Hard Rock Stadium.
Asked to explain his man-of-the-match pick on Rio Ferdinand Presents, the former Manchester United defender said: ‘Yeah, I thought Anderson. Elliot Anderson I thought was great. I can make very good arguments that you might not win the game without either of their [Elliot and Bellingham’s] performances and impact moment, so you need the blend of both. I’ve played in many games where, I don’t know, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored two goals but then Paul Scholes walks off with the man of the match or a defender does because they have moments in that game that aren’t as match-defining, but you know that without them moments or the bits of play that person had or contributed, we may not get to win the game. But listen, there’s no doubt in my mind, if Jude gets man of the match then he deserves it. He’s a match-winner.’
Bellingham’s tournament impact
According to Ferdinand, Bellingham stands above the rest as England’s finest player in tournament football since the side’s victory way back in 1966. ‘I’m saying it with my chest, yes, Jude Bellingham is the best England player that we’ve had in tournament football since 1966, any tournaments,’ he explained. ‘Now, who are you putting forward to be ahead of him? Wayne Rooney at the Euros was phenomenal, outrageous. It’s knockout football and he’s just come and said, “I’m gonna turn the heater up a bit on the cooker”. There aren’t many players who, when on the biggest occasions, where they go, “Guys, I’m him, who else?”, and you look at him now… are we becoming over-reliant on him? Maybe. But my point is still that we’ve got two superheroes. We’ve got Jude and we’ve got Harry Kane so if Kane’s on it and Jude isn’t, we’re going to get through probably.’
Ferdinand heaped praise on Bellingham for successfully brushing off past ‘murmurings’ over his character to inspire England into the final four. ‘What I’m seeing that is becoming more and more apparent now is the other players, and this is so important, the other players are so accepting that Jude is the guy,’ he added. ‘There were so many murmurings in the previous tournament and people started trying to write him off, saying he had too much of an ego maybe or he’s too this or too that, trying to find stories. But the kid just knows how to turn up and perform at the biggest moments.’
Upcoming semi-final
England’s eagerly anticipated semi-final clash versus Argentina takes place in Atlanta on Wednesday, 15 July at 20:00 BST. Remarkably, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi will line up against the Three Lions for the first time in his international career should he feature at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. England will lock horns with Argentina in a mouthwatering semi-final match-up after Messi and Co edged out Switzerland in extra-time to secure their place in the last four.
