England's Jude Bellingham Goes Viral for Comments About Ghana

England started the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup with a bang, beating Croatia 4-2, thanks to a Harry Kane brace and goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.

The Three Lions were already among the favorites to win this World Cup, but their opening performance had everyone from England and beyond believing “it’s coming home” may finally come true for the first time since 1966.

And then Ghana humbled them.

Ghana and England fielded an intense 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday afternoon. Bellingham was named the Player of the Match, and the Real Madrid star had a sobering reaction.

“Yeah, I didn’t deserve it, to be honest,” Bellingham said, per BBC Sport. “It should have gone to one of their lads who defended so well. [I] had a couple of moments. It was hard to get in the game. I’m grateful for whoever voted, but it probably should have gone to one of their lads.”

“Fair play to them,” Bellingham continued. “Like always, it’s second game fever, isn’t it? With England, win the first one, do well, and then draw the second one, but it’s OK. I think they played for a draw, as it would have seen them go through, and fair play to them. They did a great job.”

Bellingham got into a brief yet heated exchange with Ghana manager Carlos Queiroz at halftime and recorded one shot before being replaced by Morgan Rogers in the 73rd minute.

The 0-0 score sells Ghana short, as the Black Stars securing 1 point against England packed a historic punch. According to FOX Soccer, it’s the third-largest FIFA Men’s World Ranking difference between teams to win or draw. Entering the match, England ranked No. 4, with Ghana at No. 73.

BBC Sport relayed that Ghana is one of four teams yet to concede a goal, and Ghana’s 30 shots faced without conceding is the most among the 48 countries competing at the 2026 World Cup.

In Group L, England and Ghana each have 4 points, though England tops the group with a +2 goal differential. England will wrap group play against Panama, and Ghana will face Croatia, on Saturday, June 27. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.

Ghana has not escaped the group stage since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010. England is looking to improve upon a quarterfinal finish at the 2022 World Cup.

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This story was originally published June 23, 2026 at 8:07 PM.