Bellingham Brace: England in 2026 World Cup Semifinal

In the meantime, the picture has fundamentally changed. From the scapegoat of yesteryear, he has become a celebrated hero in the "motherland of football." The two braces in the knockout stage have sealed that transformation once and for all.

With his sixth goal of the tournament, Bellingham is also an outside candidate for the Golden Boot. His teammate and captain Harry Kane did not himself score the goals that took England into the semifinals — the burden in that phase rested on Bellingham's shoulders.

Semifinal Outlook

England faces the winner of the other quarterfinal in the semifinals on Wednesday at 9:00 PM. The match will be covered in the oe24 live ticker. The British have been waiting for a world title since 1966 — but reaching the penultimate round is an achievement in its own right.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel and his England team can thus look back on another strong performance in this tournament. Bellingham's form is coming for the team at just the right time.

The tournament also shows how quickly perceptions can shift. Written off as a problem case just two years ago, Bellingham is now the player on whom England's hopes of a first World Cup title in decades rest.

The coming days will show whether the story can be continued in the semifinals. Based on the statistics and England's tournament run so far, Bellingham ranks among the defining figures of this World Cup.