Bellingham rejects Man of the Match award after England's goalless draw with Ghana

Jude Bellingham publicly declined his Man of the Match award after England were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in their second World Cup group game, insisting no England player deserved the honour and that Ghana’s defenders were the rightful recipients.

Bellingham managed just one shot and one key pass before Thomas Tuchel withdrew him in the 72nd minute, replacing him with Morgan Rogers. Yet the Real Madrid midfielder was somehow voted the competition’s official Man of the Match — a decision that surprised even the player himself.

“I didn’t deserve it, to be honest — it should have gone to one of their lads who defended so well,” Bellingham told FIFA’s in-house media after the game. “I had a couple of moments. It was hard to get into the game, and I’m grateful for whoever voted, but it should’ve gone to one of their lads who defended so well, so fair play to them.”

Bellingham also acknowledged the familiar pattern of England’s tournament campaigns. “Like always, it’s second-game fever, isn’t it, with England: win the first one, do well, and draw the second. But it’s OK. I think they played for a draw as it would have seen them go through and fair play to them, they got a great draw.”

Declan Rice echoed the frustration in the England camp, admitting the team struggled to break down a disciplined Ghana side that sat deep throughout. “It’s always difficult to play against 11 behind the ball as deep as they were, so you’ve got to find solutions,” Rice told the BBC. “In the last ten minutes we probably found more than we did all game, and we were unlucky not to score. But we stay positive, we keep going, and we’ve still got a great chance to top the group against Panama.”

England opened their Group L campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia and will conclude the group stage against Panama at MetLife Stadium just outside New York City on Saturday, with kick-off at 5pm local time (10pm UK). A win would guarantee Tuchel’s side a place in the round of 32.