Sport

Truth behind Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka's 'sweet' penalty moment during England vs France

England fans praise Jude Bellingham after giving up 'record-making' moment for Saka
England fans praise Jude Bellingham after giving up 'record-making' moment for Saka

After a tough week, it was a bittersweet victory last night for England, who beat France 6-4 to secure their best World Cup result since they won in 1966.

Rice, Konsa, and Bellingham all scored goals, while Bukayo Saka secured a record-making hat trick. Despite France not getting the result they hoped for, Kylian Mbappé did surpass Messi in the Golden Boot race, landing 22 goals across the tournament.

But there was one moment in particular that has seemingly reignited national pride following the game; a sweet moment between Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in which both of them were on-track to make history.

For Saka, who scored two goals in the 37th and 46th minutes respectively, it was centred on trying to become the fourth player in history to secure a hat trick during a World Cup game for England.

For Bellingham, it was about being the single highest-scoring England player in a World Cup tournament.

It came down to the wire for them both in the 87th minute when the Three Lions were awarded a penalty. Bellingham initially picked up the ball, but it ended up being Saka who took the shot after his teammate handed it over, helping him to secure the record he'd been hoping for.

But, it was Bellingham seemingly 'giving up the ball' for Saka that had social media talking.

"Very generous move", one fan wrote. "Such a class act", another added, while a third dubbed him the "future captain".

However, as sweet as their bromance is, Saka himself has since confirmed what really happened during that moment - and it's not quite as it seems.

Getty

"No, Jude was never taking it," Saka confirmed to BBC Sport. "He was the first one to say go and get your hat-trick, so none of them came to distract me. I was always going to take it."

Thankfully for Bellingham, he then too got his own victory after scoring England's 6th and final goal in the 98th minute, bringing his tournament total to seven.

A great day to be an England fan.

Why not read...

England beats France in best World Cup result since 1966 - everyone says same thing

Lamine Yamal's baby photographs with Lionel Messi resurface ahead of Spain v Argentina FIFA World Cup final

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter


The Conversation (0)