Despite the 2026 World Cup still ongoing, Wayne Rooney has already made his pick for the player of the tournament.
Wayne Rooney endured mixed fortunes across three World Cups. In 2006, rushed back from injury, he was sent off against Portugal. In 2010, he struggled alongside a misfiring England squad. Finally, in 2014, he scored his sole World Cup goal against Uruguay before the team suffered a group stage exit.
As for the 2026 World Cup, Wayne Rooney has served as a headline studio pundit for the BBC.
However, this has been an eventful tournament for him, as he’s set to row down the Hudson River if he can make it happen after betting with Erling Haaland that Norway wouldn’t make the quarter-finals.
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Wayne Rooney picks Jude Bellingham as the 2026 World Cup player of the tournament
Featuring on his own podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, the BBC pundit spoke highly of Jude Bellingham‘s displays at the 2026 World Cup.
“Where do you rank him, Wayne?”
Rooney responded: “For me, he’s been the best in the tournament. In terms of best in the world, I think you’re looking at someone like Mbappe or Haaland, but I think he hasn’t quite been at them levels at Real Madrid last season, but he’s been the best player of the tournament for me.”
Jude Bellingham has been England’s standout at the 2026 World Cup, scoring four of the Three Lions’ last five goals. Following a decisive brace against Mexico in the round of sixteen, his sensational double against Norway secured a semi-final spot, as well as putting him level with Harry Kane on six goals.
However, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland currently sit ahead of Bellingham and Kane in the World Cup top goalscorer rankings.
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