Jude Bellingham was given the Man of the Match award after the disappointing 0-0 draw against Ghana, a match special for Bellingham as he became, at 22 and 359 days, the youngest player to reach 50 caps with England. The midfielder, who was substituted after 72 minutes, said he didn't deserve the award and should have been handed to a Ghanaian player.
"I didn't deserve it, to be honest", Bellingham said in the mixed zone. "It should have gone to one of their lads who defended so well. I had a couple of moments, it was hard to get into the game and I'm grateful for whoever voted but it probably should've gone to one of their lads so fair play to them".
"I think they played for a draw as it would have seen them go through, they did a great job".
England stands leader of Group L with 4 points and +2 goal difference, and a draw against Panama, already eliminated, would be enough to guarantee qualification. Elimination is almost impossible (they would need to suffer a huge defeat against Panama to be one of the worst four third-placed teams), but that match was, as BBC puts it, a "reality check" for one of the favourites for the Cup.
"It's second-game fever, isn't it?", joked Bellingham. "With England, it's always about winning the first game, playing well, and then drawing the second". He finally said that, to the fans, "I would say stay calm; we're already thinking about the next game", while also answering briefly a question about the new Real Madrid coach, José Mourinho: "Mourinho is a top coach, I'm very happy".
