East Rutherford — A sea of red-and-white-clad England supporters serenaded Jude Bellingham with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Panama, a fitting soundtrack for the player who has become a focal point of England’s World Cup campaign.
Bellingham delivered the breakthrough England desperately needed on Saturday, scoring once and setting up Harry Kane in the victory that secured top spot in Group L and a potentially smoother path through the tournament’s knockout rounds.
After a laboured first hour during which England dominated possession but created little, Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, forcing home Bukayo Saka’s corner from close range despite being tightly marked.
Five minutes later he clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home for an historic 11th World Cup goal for England.
The joyous postgame moments were a stark contrast to his difficult season at Real Madrid marked by injury issues and inconsistency.
He has also experienced a complicated relationship with England supporters, drawing criticism from some sections of social media.
The 22-year-old addressed the criticism after England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening match, in which he also scored, saying: “Personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to helping us try to win games.”
On Saturday, England spent an increasingly tense hour probing for an opening and finding little reward.
Panama’s stubborn resistance was beginning to test the patience of supporters and raise uncomfortable questions about England’s cutting edge before Bellingham provided the answer.
“First job achieved,” he said. “We came here to do it in sections and we got through the pre-games well and we achieved the first job — we got through the group and won it.
“We know what level we are at and what we want to achieve and we did in the second half. Every day we have to try to improve and it’s up to us to do that.”
England manager Tuchel hailed Bellingham’s contribution.
“Good performance, happy he is in this kind of shape and everyone did what they needed to do, and Jude was a big part of that,” Tuchel said.
Bellingham was pleased he was able to set up Kane to become England’s all-time leading goal scorer at World Cups with 11.
“He continues to raise his level and it is incredible,” Bellingham said. “It’s everything he deserves. You see the effort he puts in as captain and how he leads us. His quality speaks for itself, he is the best.”
Bellingham also became the youngest European player to feature in four consecutive major tournaments — World Cups and European Championships — at this event.
More Saturday games
Croatia 2, Ghana 1: At Philadelphia, Nikola Vlasic headed in Luka Modric’s 83rd-minute corner to lift Croatia to a second-place finish in Group L. Vlasic’s perfect finish off the inside of the left post came 10 minutes after Derrick Luckassen had pulled Ghana level on his international debut, with half the time in between spent on a VAR review determining whether he was onside.
Petar Sucic scored early for Croatia (2-1-0, 6 points), who needed only a draw to reach the last 32. Claiming the second-place spot guaranteed the 2022 third-place finishers a meeting with the second-placed team in Group K, most likely Portugal or Colombia, on Thursday in Toronto.
“We’re not going to be euphoric about this,” said Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic. “We’re going to prepare for the next match and try to win the next match as well.”
Modric, 40, played his first full 90 minutes of the tournament and had arguably his best match while becoming the oldest player in World Cup history to contribute an assist.
“Luka was truly fantastic,” Dalic said. “Just as he was throughout his career, he was like that tonight. And I’m very glad that this is how it turned out tonight.”
Ghana (1-1-1, 4 points), which finished third in the group, were already assured of qualification and will meet the winners of Group K, Portugal or Colombia, on Friday in Kansas City.
Sucic gave Croatia a deserved lead after 31 minutes with a long-range strike into the bottom left corner.
“I think first half, we had the ball but we didn’t do a lot with it,” Luckassen said of his Ghana side. “We were just playing around. … And second half, we pressed forward, we tried to put the balls in, and it was a lot better in the second half.”
Ghana was indeed much improved in the second half, but Luckassen’s 73rd-minute goal was its first effort on target.
Ernest Nuamah delivered an inswinging free kick over Croatia’s defensive line and Luckassen clearly came from an onside position to knock the ball into the net at the back post.
Referee Drew Fischer was summoned to the monitor, where he determined that Kwasi Sibol, who was in an offside position, did not interfere in the play.
Ghanaian joy was short-lived, however, as Modric’s corner sailed beyond the penalty spot towards the back post, where Vlasic was given space to meet it with the side of his head and nod it downwards in the one place goalkeeper Benjamin Asare could not save it.
Luckassen was only on the field because manager Carlos Queiroz spared his three players on yellow cards.
“It was a nice feeling,” Luckassen said of his goal. “But I’m a bit disappointed about the loss.”
Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo limped off in the late stages after suffering an apparent ankle injury, but was able to return to complete the 90 minutes.
Colombia 0, Portugal 0: At Miami Gardens, Florida, in a duel of heavyweights, Colombia finished off a draw to earn the top spot in Group K, with an offside call preventing a potential late winning goal for the South American side.
Colombia (2-0-1, 7 points) was unable to score in the match despite relentless offensive pressure, taking 24 shots to 13 for Portugal (1-0-2, 5 points), who finished second in the group. Colombia logged a 6-2 edge in shots on target.
Camilo Vargas had two saves for Colombia in his second clean sheet of the tournament.
Colombia earned an extra day of rest by winning the group. It will face Ghana in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, after Portugal faces Croatia in Toronto on Thursday. Both Colombia and Portugal had clinched advancement to the knockout round prior to the Saturday match.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was in the starting lineup for the third consecutive group-play match but was unable to match his two-goal performance from a 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan on Tuesday. Diogo Costa recorded six saves for Portugal against Colombia.
Davinson Sanchez appeared to give Colombia a 1-0 lead in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when he scored on a header at the right post, but he was ruled offside on the play. The offside call was confirmed after a video review.
Two minutes later, Portugal’s Rafael Leao fired a shot untouched across the front of the goal that went wide.
Colombia pushed forward until the end with Gustavo Puerta putting a shot on goal in the 95th minute just before the final whistle.
Both teams went on the attack from the opening whistle with Colombia taking 14 first-half shots to nine for Portugal.
In the 39th minute, Portugal had a prime scoring chance when Bruno Fernandes fired a point-blank shot from just outside the 6-yard box that was saved by Vargas. Colombia’s best first-half scoring chance came in the third minute of stoppage time when James Rodriguez sent Costa to the ground to make a save.
The scoreless draw was Colombia’s first in 25 all-time World Cup matches.
Democratic Republic of Congo 3, Uzbekistan 1: At Atlanta, striker Yoane Wissa netted twice as the Democratic Republic of Congo reached the knockouts after fighting its way back from a halftime deficit and setting up a last-32 meeting with England.
A penalty from Wissa and an opportunist finish from substitute striker Fiston Mayele saw the Congolese turn around the score with two goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes before Wissa got his second a minute into stoppage time.
The victory ensured DR Congo finished third in Group K, behind Colombia and Portugal, and it will now stay in Atlanta and take on England on Wednesday.
It was the first World Cup win for the Congolese, returning to the tournament 52 years after a woeful debut in 1974.
The result condemned Uzbekistan to a third successive defeat at its first World Cup, which proved a disappointing outcome after it led for almost an hour of the game.
Uzbek captain Eldor Shomurodov had put his side ahead early, but it sat back in the second half and paid the price as DR Congo completed a thrilling turnaround.
Uzbekistan handed the Congolese a scare inside the first 30 seconds when a long ball from the defence fell for Dostonbek Khamdamov, whose shot was blocked only for Shomurodov to net the rebound but from an offside position.
It was not long, however, before Shomurodov showed a swift turn of pace to finish off a similar move in the 10th minute and hand his side the lead.
Abbosbek Fayzullaev played a clever flick off a long pass, and Shomurodov’s pace saw him get ahead of fullback Aaron Wan-Bissaka and, from an acute angle, lob it over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who had come off his line and was caught out of position.
Brian Cipenga’s dribbling down the left flank set up Nathanael Mbuku for a rasping left-footed shot that flew in at the near post seven minutes later, but it was ruled out, after a pitch-side VAR check, because Mbuku’s trailing hand had struck the face of defender Sherzod Nasrullaev in the build-up.
DR Congo had the lion’s share of possession in the second half, but woeful finishing made it increasingly desperate to get into the game.
A dollop of good fortune, however, befell it when awarded a penalty after Abdukodir Khusanov hacked down Wissa, who had been markedly off-form.
The striker, who has struggled with injury at club level for Newcastle United this season, sent goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way to equalise and he then looked transformed.
Congo then forged ahead in the 78th minute when Meschack Elia’s shot was blocked but spun towards the Uzbek goal, allowing Mayele time to get a touch and flick it over the head of Nematov.
Wissa then added a third in stoppage time after being given time to run across the edge of the penalty area and fire a shot into the corner of the goal that set him off on a celebratory run across the full length of the Atlanta Stadium pitch, chased by his delighted teammates.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: World Cup roundup: ‘Hey Jude’ rings out as Bellingham leads England
Reporting by Detroit News wire services / The Detroit News
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By Detroit News wire services | USA TODAY Network
