Jude Bellingham struck a positive note after England’s 0-0 draw with Ghana in their second World Cup group stage game, saying the result, and the experience playing against an “exceptional” team, provided a “good test”.
England were unable to replicate their dazzling second-half performance in their opening game against Croatia, which they won 4-2 courtesy of goals from Bellingham and Marcus Rashford, as they were kept at bay by a dogged Ghana defence in Boston.
Bellingham admitted the Three Lions played with “a little bit of fear” against their African opponents, wary of their threat on the counter, but insisted there was a lot to learn from the performance.
The 22-year-old, who was awarded man of the match, said: “Maybe we’re not only going to play teams from Europe or what we are used to. It’s amazing to be able to play so early, a strong opponent from Africa who pose completely different threats.
“You saw that, it was tough to break them down. They were exceptional on the counter attack. We always kept that little bit of fear in us when we were going forward.
“But part of the beautiful thing of the World Cup is that you get to play against teams, players, styles of play that you don’t really get to play against, and all stands for good tests.”
The stalemate was England’s fourth successive draw in second games at a major tournament going back to Euro 2020, with Bellingham dubbing it “second game fever”.
Although the reaction to the result has been tamer than in the past, Bellingham says it is impossible to hide from his critics.
“I think you’ve got to roll with it,” he said. “I think when we play well, like the other day, we got the credit we deserve. We weren’t at our best [against Ghana], it’s normal there’s going to be a little bit of noise, and that’s completely fair and completely normal for us.
“It’s just about cracking on, getting back to Kansas, recovering well, analysing what we did, and keep going the same way that we were going before, with the same mentality, with the same attitude, try to avoid it as much as we can.
“But it’s mad now, even when you, when you don’t follow them, they pop up, so they follow you everywhere, but it’s fine.
“We’ll take what we have to take, but I think the important thing is that we’re sure in our beliefs inside the camp, and that doesn’t change.”
