Jude Bellingham hailed for ‘complete performance’ as England make flying start

Jude Bellingham received effusive praise for a “complete performance” as England began their World Cup campaign with a 6-2 win over Iran.

Bellingham opened the scoring with his first England goal in the 35th minute and turned in a commanding display in midfield at just 19 years of age.

Former England striker Alan Shearer hailed a “really, really impressive” display from Gareth Southgate’s side and singled out Bellingham for special recognition.

“The young boy, can we call him that? He’s not really now, he’s a man isn’t he? Bellingham. Oh my word what a performance, incredible,” Shearer said on BBC1.

“It was a complete performance from a really exciting player. It was a special day for him and for England.”

Fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand added: “The authority he plays with out on the pitch goes well beyond his years.

“He’s a fabulous footballer but delivering at a World Cup like that at that age… we talk about the great midfielders we’ve played with and we’ve seen in our generation, none of them were doing what he’s doing at his age on this stage.”

Bellingham admitted he thought his glancing header from Luke Shaw’s cross was not going in before it nestled in the far corner.

“To be honest I thought it had missed and it took ages to loop into the goal,” the Borussia Dortmund midfielder said.

“I told you I wanted to score more goals for Dortmund and England. It was a brilliant ball from Shawy and I was just there to flick it away and it was a really proud moment for me.”

England face the United States in their second Group B game on Friday before taking on Wales on November 29 and Bellingham added: “Wins do (take pressure off), you’re at ease for a bit, but we’ll still be at the same level trying to perform and get two more wins because that’s how we want to be and carry that mentality into hopefully the rest of the tournament.”

Southgate was pleased with the win, but the England head coach admitted he was annoyed to concede two goals, with the second coming from the penalty spot in the last seconds.

“I’m a bit fed up with the end of it really,” Southgate said. “To win by that margin, to play as we did for the majority of the game, I’ve got to be really happy.

“But we shouldn’t be conceding two goals at that stage and we’ll have to be right on our game against the (United) States. It’s a great start but we’re going to have to be better.

“It’s a consequence of the scoreline a bit, we had 24 minutes of added time which is a long time to focus but we just lost concentration and when we play at a slower tempo we’re not anywhere near as effective.

“I’m a miserable so and so, I should be more excited but I’ve got to keep the team on the right track and we will have to be better.”

Bukayo Saka was named player of the match for his two goals as he looks to erase the memories of his penalty miss during England’s shoot-out defeat in the European Championship final in 2021.

“I feel like I’m in a good place, I have the support from the fans,” Saka said. “I really feel the love from the fans, the coaching staff and my team-mates.

“I feel good, that’s all I need. I’m ready to give 100 per cent and I’ll continue to do that every time I put the shirt on.”