I don’t deserve it: Jude Bellingham’s blunt acceptance of the MOTM award after the draw in Ghana
England midfielder Jude Bellingham offered an honorable mention after being named man of the match in his side’s frustrating 0-0 draw against Ghana at the World Cup, insisting the award should have gone to one of the opposition’s players.
England were handed a timely reality check in Boston on Monday as a disciplined defensive display from Ghana stopped Thomas Tuchel’s side from an entertaining 4-2 win over Croatia in their Group L opener.
Ghana sat deep, stayed compact and disrupted England’s attacking rhythm during a match that produced few clear-cut chances. The Three Lions struggled to find space against a determined back line, with Harry Kane missing the best chance of the game late on after going close from close range.
Despite a relatively quiet outing, Bellingham was named the official player of the match. However, the Real Madrid star felt the tribute was out of place.
“To be honest, I didn’t deserve it,” Bellingham told FIFA’s internal media after the match.
“It should have gone to one of their guys who defended so well. I had a few moments, it was hard to get into the game and I’m thankful for whoever voted, but it should have gone to one of their guys.”
The 22-year-old also pointed to England’s familiar pattern at major tournaments.
“As always, it’s second-leg fever with England. Win the first, do well and draw the second. But that’s OK, they were playing for a draw that would see them through and play fair,” he added.
The result marked the fourth major tournament in a row in which England drew their second match in the group stage.
Declan Rice echoed the sense of frustration but urged calm, insisting England remain in a good position to finish top of Group L.
“You have to give credit to Ghana,” Rice told the BBC. “They were 5-4-1 without the ball, very compact, tight space to play. Maybe we can do a bit more with the ball and create a bit more, but it’s difficult because they’re good players and it’s never going to be an easy game.”
The Arsenal midfielder stressed there was no need to panic despite England surrendering their perfect record.
“A lot of top countries have drawn their first game so there’s no need to be negative. We have to stay positive, move on and recover before the next game against Panama.”
“It’s always difficult when you play against an eleven behind the ball as deep as they were. You have to find solutions and in the last 10 minutes we probably found more than the rest of the game. We were unlucky not to score but we still have a great chance to top the group.”
The stalemate was notable for another reason. This produced a first half of the tournament in which neither side managed to get a shot on target.
England assistant coach Anthony Barry admitted at half-time that Ghana’s defensive set-up had caused problems, describing it as “deep, deep, deep – probably deeper than we expected”.
Ghana, meanwhile, felt they were denied a late chance to claim all three points when Prince Ada appeared to be brought down by Ezri Konsa in the penalty area. The referee waved away strong calls for a penalty and ensured the points were shared.
England will now look to secure top spot in Group L when they face Panama, while a disciplined display from Ghana boosted their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
Jun 24, 2026 06:38 IST