Argentine media speculate on Bellingham's injury, angering England fans

On July 13rd, the Daily Mail reported that Argentine media had recently been speculating about an injury to Bellingham before the FIFA World Cup semi-final against Argentina. The speculation by the Argentine media immediately sparked widespread discussion and dissatisfaction among English fans.

The latest footage released today shows Bellingham holding his shoulder and looking troubled as he walked through the mixed zone after the match at Miami Stadium.

Earlier footage had shown Bellingham constantly rubbing his left shoulder while talking to coach Tuchel. This led journalists from TyC Sports, an Argentine media outlet based in Buenos Aires, to believe that the England key player might be injured.

However, Bellingham has long been troubled by a shoulder injury. In March 2025, while playing for Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano, the midfielder dislocated his left shoulder and underwent surgery last summer.

His left shoulder still bears a noticeable scar, clearly visible in photos taken of him today by the pool at England's Kansas City base camp.

The "Galáctico" star is expected to start on Wednesday evening at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as England eagerly seek to reach the FIFA World Cup final for the first time in 60 years.

Bellingham has been in phenomenal form at this FIFA World Cup, scoring in all six matches as England advanced to the semi-finals, netting 6 goals. His two most recent goals, undoubtedly the most crucial, came at the end of the first half and during extra time against a Norway team led by Haaland.

The first goal helped England draw level after Norway broke the deadlock. The Birmingham-born star received a pass from Anthony Gordon, drove into the box, and unleashed a powerful shot that beat Nyland.

Morgan Rogers' long-range shot forced Nyland into a fumble, and Bellingham scored from the rebound to secure England's spot in the Atlanta semi-final.

After the final whistle, England players and thousands of fans in the Miami stands sang "Wonderwall" together, creating a joyful atmosphere.

However, Tuchel, speaking to ITV after the match, frankly stated that the team was "lucky" to win. This unexpected remark left Bellingham looking puzzled when he was interviewed next.

When asked by a reporter, "What do you think of the coach's comments?" Bellingham initially replied, "No comment."

But when pressed further by the reporter, he added, "Maybe he hasn't experienced playing against Haaland, Ødegaard, Nusa, Sørloth in that kind of situation. That's not an easy team to play against."

"I think we've been trying to create a positive atmosphere, and we need to keep that going in the semi-finals. I can't speak highly enough of my teammates. You don't win every game with a thousand passes; sometimes you just have to do the 'dirty work' to grind out a victory, and that's what we did tonight."

England played in the scorching heat of Florida, with the perceived temperature exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. In another sideline interview, Bellingham appeared dismissive of Tuchel's comments, saying: "Well, whatever he wants to say."

"The game was very tough, and everyone gave their all. I’m truly grateful to my teammates on the field; they put in an amazing effort."

However, Tuchel laughed off claims of a "rift between general and marshal" last night, stating: "There's no distance between me and the team, not at all. I genuinely love every one of my players, my team, and the way they perform." Aside from Henderson, England have almost no other injury concerns ahead of the match against Argentina.

Comments from England fans

“They’d love for him to be injured.”

"He's England's best player since Bobby Charlton—truly world-class."

"One of the top players at this FIFA World Cup."

"The Iron Lady also sent her greetings and support."

"Hopefully, Argentina sinks as quickly as the Belgrano!"

"Argentine media still claim that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina, so don't pay attention to their reports."

"Are the Argentine media already planning to injure him and expecting VAR to turn a blind eye?"

"Word is that American referee Ismail Elfath will officiate the England-Argentina match! I hope he officiates fairly. Jude, be careful, stay calm, don't let yourself be provoked by malicious fouls, and keep your composure."

"Anyway, assign someone to mark Messi tightly and severely limit his impact. Deal with him the way Alejandro did in 'Sicario'; he definitely can't handle it."

"He was rubbing his right shoulder when he fell; it wasn't the shoulder that had surgery."

"I'd act that way too, deliberately trying to confuse the opponent. Let them think he's playing injured; maybe he's perfectly fine."

"I wonder if Argentina can play fairly this time, without deliberately injuring key opposing players, and whether the referee can officiate justly."

"How can they conclude he's 'grimacing in pain'? Maybe the sun was just in his eyes? Childish psychological warfare; as long as he can play, it's absolutely fine."

"He doesn't use his shoulder to kick the ball."

"Bring it on."

"Messi needs to wear elevator shoes 🤭🤭🤭"

"Pain doesn't equal injury. I had a bad mountain-biking fall during the pandemic, and my shoulder didn't stop hurting for two full years, but I could still function normally by enduring it!!"

“He kicks the ball with his feet, and the occasional header is certainly no problem 😏”

"Pure overreaction. I've had the same surgery on both shoulders, the first one twenty years ago, and occasionally it still aches with strain, at most for a few days. He's absolutely fine, just minor discomfort. If it were serious, he absolutely wouldn't be recovering in the pool in that position."

Argentina also conceded two goals against Cape Verde, and they are arguably the weakest semi-final team in history.

“Let them believe it. When he plays at full strength, it will greatly boost England’s morale.”

"Back then, they thought we couldn't reclaim the Falkland Islands..."

"I’d really like to see how the FA would react if England fans started singing songs about the Falkland Islands."

"If I were Argentine, I wouldn't repeatedly bring up the illegal occupation of the islands back then and the failure to hold them. The islands are thousands of miles from the UK mainland and only hundreds of miles from Argentina, yet they still couldn't keep them. And the vast majority of Falkland Islanders are proud to be British."

"Belief... that's all England need to face Argentina and reach the final. They can win for themselves, for the team, the coaching staff and support staff, and most importantly, for their country!"

"Go England, you can do it! Bring the trophy home!!! Blessings from an Australian compatriot."

"Argentina are a bunch of opportunistic cheaters."

"That photo of him holding his shoulder while talking to Tuchel was from several games ago, even before the Mexico match. Henderson was right there, unharmed."

"Since their win in 1966, the team's form has declined significantly, and the overall standard has dropped. I'm really curious about what the problem is, haha."

"In my opinion, he doesn't use his shoulder to shoot or score, so it doesn't affect his performance at all."

"Messi's stamina is not what it used to be; data suggests he stands still 12% of the time on the field, walks slowly 63%, jogs 10%, and spends the remaining 15% waiting in the box for tap-ins."

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