Wayne Rooney likens Jude Bellingham to Gerrard and Keane after Mexico win
England midfielder Jude Bellingham’s match-winning double against Mexico at the Azteca has been hailed as a perfect World Cup performance by Wayne Rooney, who compared the display to legendary outings from Steven Gerrard and Roy Keane.
The 23-year-old scored twice in the space of 98 seconds as Thomas Tuchel’s 10-man side secured a thrilling 3-2 last-16 victory in the Mexican capital.
That hard-fought win books a quarter-final clash with Norway as the Three Lions continue their quest for a first major international trophy since 1966.
Echoes of Istanbul and Turin
Former Manchester United and Everton forward Rooney believes the Real Madrid star single-handedly dragged his nation through severe adversity.
“I said Jude Bellingham was going to have a game when we’re going to need him to drag us through,” the ex-striker explained on his BBC podcast.
“You look at Steven Gerrard against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, or Roy Keane against Juventus for Manchester United.”
“They dragged the teams through them games.”
A complete midfield masterclass
Gerrard famously sparked Liverpool’s historic comeback from 3-0 down in Istanbul, while Keane inspired United’s 1999 semi-final turnaround against Juventus despite picking up a suspension-inducing yellow card.
The young English prodigy demonstrated similar grit beyond just his attacking output against the host nation.
He produced a sensational last-ditch tackle to prevent Mexico defender Cesar Montes from making it 2-2 on the stroke of half-time.
“At times defensively he’s not always in the right positions, but his desire to get back and put that last-minute tackle in and help his team-mates when they’re not maybe having the best game was everything,” added Rooney.
Perfect rating for generational talent
Securing a victory under such intense pressure in one of world football’s most intimidating stadiums left an indelible mark on the former national team captain.
“I just felt when you get asked to mark them out of 10 you’re looking, thinking, right, could he have done a little bit more to get that mark up?”
“I just felt it was the right game to give him a 10 out of 10.”