Jude Bellingham Shares Team Bus Driver's Emotional Letter After WC Heartbreak
England midfielder Jude Bellingham on Friday wrote an emotional note on social media. Along with it, the player also shared a letter he received from the team's bus driver.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham on Friday wrote an emotional note on social media. Along with it, the player also shared a letter he received from the team's bus driver, Michael Chandler, when the squad was in Kansas. The Three Lions were eliminated from the FIFA World Cup 2026 after suffering a heartbreaking 1-2 defeat at the hands of Argentina in the second semi-final in Atlanta. England had nearly booked a place in the final as they were 1-0 up with around 15 minutes left in regulation time. Then came a sensational counter-attack from Argentina, which led to the ouster of Thomas Tuchel's team.
Taking to Instagram, Bellingham wrote: "Was really struggling to find the right words for yesterday and the last few weeks but this pretty much hits the nail on the head from our driver in Kansas.
"Thank you for the unbelievable support from back home and to those who spent their hard earned money to travel to America and get behind us.
"Don't let the unity and love we've seen in our country end with this campaign. When we're together we can achieve big things And we will! Love yous!"
England desperately wanted to protect their lead as time was winding down in the World Cup semi-final. Coach Thomas Tuchel made lineup and strategy changes to build a wall in front of goal.
Argentina and Lionel Messi simply knocked it down.
England led 1-0 late in the second half before Messi assisted goals by Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of injury time to give Argentina a wild 2-1 victory on Wednesday and a spot in the World Cup final against Spain.
Tuchel's tactical choices in one of the biggest matchups in one of football's biggest rivalries will likely be scrutinised and criticised for years. England missed its chance to return to the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.
England's loss marked only the second time this century that the team which scored first in a World Cup semi-final did not reach the final, according to Opta. The other team was also England, in 2018 against Croatia.
England took the lead through Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute. But Argentina quickly seized the momentum with furious pressure on England's defence.
To protect the lead, England dropped closer and closer to its own goal, hoping to build the sort of impenetrable wall it had when it held on to beat Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 players.
Tuchel swapped defender Reece James for Dan Burn and midfielder Declan Rice for defender Nico O'Reilly in the 82nd minute.
Fernandez struck barely three minutes later with a precise right-footed effort from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to his teammate's feet, and England's defenders failed to close him down before he unleashed a shot that curled past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Argentina kept coming, and England's wall kept crumbling. The defending champions hit the crossbar and missed another header across the face of goal before Martinez finally sealed it with a powerful close-range header after England's defenders lost track of him on a cross from Messi.
(With AP inputs)
Source: NDTV Trending
