Jude Bellingham was full of praise for Phil Foden after England's 3-0 World Cup win against Wales on Tuesday, highlighting the Manchester City man's ability to respond to pressure in the best way possible.
In the build-up to the match public demand for Foden to start had intensified, with England boss Gareth Southgate widely criticised for not starting the City attacker in either of England's two previous group games. Foden's patience was rewarded with a start against Wales, and he lived up to the hype by scoring England's second goal that effectively killed the game.
Speaking after the match, Bellingham - who City are expected to try and sign next summer - was delighted with how Foden rose to the occasion and didn't let the pressure get to him.
"I’m really happy for Phil [Foden] tonight. He’s had quite a lot of pressure on him the last few days with all the attention, but he’s just shown how good he is again," Bellingham said.
Although Foden is arguably the most technically gifted player in the England squad, Bellingham highlighted that there are plenty of quality attacking options at Southgate's disposal.
"We’ve got loads of depth in attacking areas and whoever comes on seems to make an impact. Whether it’s from the start or from the bench, the change in personnel doesn’t really affect the style or performance of the team, which is quite rare."
Despite that, England's attack was blunt in a goalless draw with the United States last week. Bellingham acknowledged that and was happy with the way England approached Tuesday's match, something Foden played a significant role in.
"In the first game it was a really good attacking display, the second game we defended our box well, and today we got a mix of both," Bellingham explained.
"I’m really happy as that’s the aim - to make sure we tied them both up and we did. We had high energy. We realised in the game the other day [vs the USA] we probably weren’t aggressive enough, we were a little bit too passive. It was important for us to be a bit more on the front foot."
Foden will be hoping to keep his place in the starting line-up when England take on Senegal in the last-16 on Sunday evening.