Wayne Rooney Compares Jude Bellingham’s Heroics Against Mexico to Gerrard and Keane Masterclasses
Former England captain Wayne Rooney has compared Jude Bellingham’s outstanding performance against Mexico to some of the greatest displays by Steven Gerrard and Roy Keane in UEFA Champions League history.
Bellingham starred as England defeated Mexico 3-2 in a thrilling 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash, scoring twice in just 98 seconds to inspire Thomas Tuchel’s side to victory despite finishing the match with 10 men.
The dramatic win booked England a place in the quarter-finals, where they will face Norway as they continue their bid for a first major trophy since winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking on the BBC podcast, Rooney said Bellingham’s display reminded him of Gerrard’s inspirational performance for Liverpool in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final against AC Milan and Roy Keane’s legendary display for Manchester United against Juventus in the 1999 semi-finals.
“I said Jude Bellingham was going to have a game when we’re going to need him to drag us through,” Rooney said.
“You look at Steven Gerrard against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. Roy Keane against Juventus for Manchester United. They dragged the teams through them games.
“I felt like that was Bellingham’s one with them two goals – the timing of the goals, his desire, his work rate, his hunger.”
Gerrard inspired Liverpool’s famous comeback from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan on penalties in Istanbul, while Keane produced a memorable display against Juventus despite knowing a yellow card would rule him out of the final.
Rooney awarded Bellingham a perfect 10 out of 10 for his performance, describing it as exactly what England needed under difficult circumstances.
The Real Madrid midfielder also impressed defensively, making a crucial last-ditch tackle to deny Mexico defender César Montes what would have been an equalising goal just before halftime.
“At times defensively he’s not always in the right positions, but his desire to get back and put that last-minute tackle in and help his team-mates when they’re not maybe having the best game was everything,” Rooney added.
“I just felt when you get asked to mark them out of 10, you’re looking, thinking – could he have done a little bit more to get that mark up?
“I just felt it was the right game to give him a 10 out of 10.”
