Gary Lineker suggested Jude Bellingham could be England’s greatest ever player, after the midfielder’s World Cup heroics against Norway.
England were not at their best in Saturday’s quarter-final tie at Miami Stadium, but Bellingham delivered once more on the biggest stage.
The 23-year-old dragged England level towards the end of the first half, before capitalising on Orjan Nyland’s mistake to put the Three Lions ahead in extra time.
Bellingham has netted six goals at the 2026 World Cup, none of which have been penalties. This is the joint-most non-penalty goals by an England player in a major tournament, along with Lineker at the 1986 World Cup (six).
And Lineker feels Bellingham is establishing himself as the best player England have ever had.
“I would go as far as to say I think there’s a chance that I think he could well be, or end up being, England’s greatest ever footballer. And that is a big shout,” Lineker said on The Rest is Football.
Sometimes he does all the work himself, sometimes it’s left there for him to finish off. Regardless, it’s consistently resulting in tournament-altering goals for Jude Bellingham. pic.twitter.com/29em4umESb
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 11, 2026
“We’ve had some really great players. Some of them have not necessarily done it for their country, others have.
“Go back to people like Bobby Charlton, obviously, [he] would have to be up there.
“You would put Harry Kane in that bracket and there are other players as well, but I think at this age, to be doing what he’s doing and to grabbing England by the scruff and getting them over the line, that is [a] superstar.”
Bellingham has now scored seven goals at the World Cup for England – the only player to net more in the competition while aged 23 or younger is Kylian Mbappe (12), while the Three Lions’ number 10 is now level with Pele on seven.
The Real Madrid man has netted a brace in each of his last two appearances, with only Kane (four) and Lineker (three) ever having more matches in which they scored 2+ goals for the Three Lions in the World Cup.
In the history of the competition overall, the only midfielder with more 2+ goal games than Bellingham is Peru’s Teofilo Cubillas (three).
