England's Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid star, has said he did not deserve the man-of-the-match award from his country's goalless draw with Ghana in the second round of Group 12 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking on BBC, Bellingham said: "Honestly, I don't deserve this award. Perhaps one of the Ghana players deserved it — they put in a tremendous defensive performance."
He added: "We had a few chances, but I couldn't really get into the game. I'm grateful to everyone who voted for me to receive this award."
When asked about England's struggles in the second match of major tournaments, the Real Madrid star replied: "Winning the first game and then drawing the second is not a problem at all. I think Ghana targeted getting the draw, which takes them closer to qualification — they deserve credit for a fine performance."
He concluded: "Whenever I win any award, I think of my family, my teammates, and the manager who gave me the opportunity to play at the World Cup. Perhaps I didn't deserve this award, but I'm very grateful."
FIFA revealed on its official website that Bellingham had been chosen to receive the award, coinciding with his 50th international appearance in an England shirt.
The player started against Ghana before German manager Thomas Tuchel decided to substitute him in the 74th minute, replacing him with Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.
With his appearance against Ghana, Bellingham became the youngest player in England's history to earn 50 international caps, at the age of 22 years and 359 days.
In second place is former Manchester United and Everton striker Wayne Rooney, who reached the milestone at 23 years and 159 days, followed by former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen at 23 years and 179 days.
Bellingham is appearing at the World Cup for the second time, after featuring at the Qatar 2022 tournament, where the Three Lions were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.
Bellingham scored in England's 4–2 victory over Croatia in the opening match of Group 12, which also includes Panama.
Bellingham has been a key fixture in the England squad in recent years, and contributed to the team's runner-up finish at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany, where they lost 1–2 to Spain in the final.
With the draw, both teams collected one point each, leaving them level on 4 points — following England's 4–2 win over Croatia and Ghana's 1–0 win over Panama in the first round.
The result boosted Ghana's chances of advancing to the round of 32 ahead of their match against Croatia, while England will face what is theoretically an easier test against Panama at the same time.