England attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham is in the hunt for the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot after netting a brace against Norway06:24, 12 Jul 2026Jude Bellingham has hailed mum Denise for delivering the motivational pep talk that helped fire England into the World Cup semi-finals.‌Bellingham, now tied level with Harry Kane on six goals at this World Cup, struck twice as the Three Lions battled back from behind to eliminate Norway in Miami.‌The 23-year-old Real Madrid maestro also avoided picking up another yellow card which would have seen him miss the semi-final.‌He explained: "My mum's been telling me all week to watch my language, watch my tackles, watch my face, watch my emotions. So yeah, I think she drilled it into me all week about being careful of that yellow card."And to be honest, when you play the right way, and credit to the referee, he was class, he still let you communicate in a respectful way. A lot of referees don't let you do that."So I think when I get the balance right, and there's a referee who's willing to listen, it makes it a lot easier. And in the end, it was just a really well competed game of football, and luckily I got through it."‌Bellingham, now among the frontrunners for the World Cup Golden Ball and potentially the Golden Boot, admits his red-hot World Cup form is beyond his wildest dreams.He continued: "Probably a bit beyond, to be honest. I'm a confident boy, but I think I don't think you go to bed at night dreaming about games like that. So I've said before in the other interviews that I've done, it's nice to have an impact and to help my team."But my God, the effort of those lads in there. I'm so proud of how they keep battling, regardless of what situations we find ourselves in. They can be really proud, and I know they are. And I'll make sure they feel that as well."‌On the back of his brace, Bellingham did not appear to agree with Thomas Tuchel's honest assessment of England's performance.Now the dust has settled, there is a feeling that Tuchel's post-match comments were somewhat misconstrued and presented to Bellingham without proper context.‌When asked if Tuchel's remarks were evidence that there is still more to come from England, the attacking midfielder replied: "Maybe, but maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sorloth. That's not an easy team to play against."So, I think we've tried to create a positive environment. We should continue that going into the final four. I can't speak highly enough of the lads. You're not going to win every game, popping the ball and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we've done that again tonight."In fact, Bellingham thinks the victory was tougher to achieve than conquering Mexico, adding: "No, definitely. The game split into loads of different kind of facets.Article continues below"You know, some of it's technical, tactical, and for me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity. And this team showed yet again that they can do it, and that's a that's a really valuable skill and trait to have going into the stage of the tournament."Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.