Football

World Cup 2022: Alan Shearer singles out England’s ‘outstanding player’ in Qatar

World Cup 2022: Alan Shearer singles out England’s ‘outstanding player’ in Qatar

England legend Alan Shearer has singled out Jude Bellingham as the star player of the Three Lions’ 2022 World Cup campaign.

At 19, Bellingham was the youngest player in the entire England squad. But he starred in each game in Qatar, and was a regular in Gareth Southgate’s midfield.

The teenager has been receiving huge plaudits for his displays ever since scoring his nation’s opening goal at the tournament. He kicked England’s campaign off by opening the scoring in the 6-2 win against Iran. 

Southgate’s men then made it all the way to the quarter-finals, before losing out 2-1 to defending champions France.

England youngster the star performer in Qatar

Bellingham will now head back to his club Borussia Dortmund, with his future uncertain amid links to several world-class teams. The likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid have all been linked with the talented midfielder in recent times.

As noted by Shearer, Bellingham is one of many young players who can use the experience in Qatar to build on for future major tournaments, with the Dortmund player shining brightest.

“So many of them had memorable moments to take away from this tournament, but it was Jude Bellingham who stood out for me as our outstanding player,” said Shearer, as reported by BBC Sport.

“Bellingham is only 19 but, right from the start, his performances were so mature and he showed he is not afraid of anyone or anything.

“He is one of the reasons the future is so exciting for England. This World Cup goes down as a missed opportunity, but we will go into the next Euros as one of the favourites, I am sure of that.”

England

Penalty miss will ‘hurt like hell’ for England captain

England had their chances to at least take the game to extra time against France, particularly given the fact that Harry Kane missed a penalty.

The captain had already netted from the spot earlier in the match, but could not repeat that success when given the chance once again.

Explaining that he knows exactly what the current squad is going through, Shearer touched on his own experiences with England, when the side lost to Germany at Euro 1996 and Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.

“After both defeats I came away thinking ‘we could have won that’ and feeling all the hurt that goes with such a narrow defeat – even though, when I thought about our performance, I was proud and there were reasons to be positive,” said Shearer.

“So I know how much this defeat will be hurting the England players right now, especially Harry Kane after his late penalty miss.

“I feel for Harry, but that is the life of a top striker. You always have to put yourself forward for such a huge moment. You can’t score with every chance you have, but some chances are bigger and mean more than others, so that one will hurt like hell.

“It will probably haunt him for the rest of his life, but there is nothing he can do about that.”

As for England boss Southgate, it remains to be seen where his future lies. The manager has said it is too soon for him to make any decision on what comes next.


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