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Jude Bellingham says it ‘was a pleasure’ to play with fellow England midfielder Jordan Henderson once more.
The youngster played alongside Henderson in England’s 3-0 World Cup round of 16 win over Senegal, setting up the Liverpool man for the opening goal.
Bellingham’s perfect cutback was met by the arriving Henderson, who swept the ball into the back of the net for England’s first goal.
Bellingham: It was a pleasure to play with Henderson
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At 32, Henderson is the most senior player in the England squad, joined by full-backs Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.
And at 19, Bellingham is the youngest member of Gareth Southgate’s squad. He has been full of praise for his fellow midfielder, saying he ‘ran the game’ against Senegal.
“He’s always kind of the loudest player on the pitch – which I love,” said Bellingham, as reported by the Independent.
“You always know you’re in a game. He doesn’t let you switch off for one second and the best thing about him is he will give you a bit of detail to help you, maybe after you’ve done something negative.
“But he’s also the first person to let you know if you’ve done something positive. His performance against Senegal was incredible. Ran the game, scored a key goal. It was a pleasure to play with him again.”
Iconic celebration ‘completely off the cuff’
After the goal, the duo locked eyes and went head-to-head in a now memorable celebration, with Bellingham admitting that the moment was in no way planned beforehand.
“That was completely off the cuff,” said Bellingham. “We’ve never even spoken about it. Obviously, we’re spending a lot of time with each other at the minute, but I think it’s turned into something that’s a bit iconic.
“To be honest he got so, like, close and I was thinking ‘right, if this is what we’re gonna do we have to commit, don’t we?’
“So I went really hard, like proper hard to his head. And that’s why my back’s arched like that, because I’m thinking like he’s proper hard here and he’s proper close.
“So I had to just turn on the core a bit and lean forward to get in a more comfortable position. But it was a good moment, those celebrations, something that lives forever and hopefully people will be talking about it for a long time.”
Bellingham set for key role against France
It remains to be seen which midfield Southgate will choose for Saturday’s quarter-final meeting with France. But Bellingham and Declan Rice look set to continue their starting roles.
Southgate opted for Chelsea’s Mason Mount in the other spot early on, but Henderson has since come in and laid a strong claim for a starting role.
Bellingham remains one of the first names on the team sheet, with the midfielder set to come up against fellow young star Aurélien Tchouaméni on Saturday.
Other key battles could involve England captain Harry Kane coming up against Raphaël Varane, and former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud facing off against Harry Maguire. The small matter of who will mark Kylian Mbappe remains to be seen.
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