Jude Bellingham screamed in frustration at the England bench moments after Brian Cipenga handed DR Congo a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into their World Cup round-of-32 clash in Atlanta. The 28-year-old Cipenga, unmarked at the back post as Djed Spence tracked Noah Sadiki, took his touch well and drove into the box, beating Jordan Pickford low and hard at his near post.
Bellingham was not alone in his anger. Declan Rice was spotted arguing with teammates, while Pickford animatedly demanded more from his defence after a sloppy passage of play. The Real Madrid midfielder’s temper boiled over minutes later when he was booked for a late challenge, prompting Alan Shearer on BBC commentary to say: “Bellingham made his mind up that he was going in for the crunching tackle a few seconds before, and he couldn’t change his mind. It is a yellow card, no doubt.”
“England came from 1-0 down to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the World Cup round of 32 after Bellingham's frustrations boiled over.”
Paul Robinson, speaking on 5Live, added: “I’m not enjoying the body language of the England players. I saw a shot of Jude Bellingham after that misplaced pass. I’m not liking the body language of the players and the manager at the moment.” Guy Mowbray noted that Bellingham has a tendency to be fired up when the going gets tough: “We see it for Real Madrid when things aren’t going entirely his way. You wouldn’t want to take that streak out of him, but he’s got to manage it now.”
Despite the early setback, England rallied. Manager Thomas Tuchel, who had made three changes for the match, saw his team come from behind to win 2-1, with captain Harry Kane scoring a brace to send England into the last 16. After the match, Tuchel praised his side’s team spirit, saying the energy and togetherness were at the highest level.
The Three Lions will now face co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the round of 16, a daunting trip to a fortress where Mexico have traditionally been strong. England will need to build on the resilience shown in Atlanta if they are to avoid an early exit in the knockout stages.