Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
England star Jude Bellingham and Norway striker Erling Haaland could mimic the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and be remembered among the greatest players in football history.
That is the view of England defender Ezri Konsa, who is hopeful that Bellingham can continue his World Cup heroics when the Three Lions face Norway in the quarter-finals.
Alongside Harry Kane, Bellingham has shone throughout England’s run to the last eight, scoring four goals, including two in their 3-2 round-of-16 win over Mexico.
He is the first England midfielder to score four times at a single World Cup, while his 33.3% shot conversion rate is also the highest of any Three Lions midfielder to attempt more than three shots in a World Cup since Opta records began in 1966 (12 shots).
But if Bellingham is to lead England into the semi-finals, they will have to get the better of Manchester City goal machine Haaland.
After netting twice to dump Brazil out in the round of 16, Haaland has scored in each of his last 14 competitive games for Norway, plundering 27 times in total during that run.
Haaland has seven goals in his first four World Cup matches, scoring in each of those contests, and he could become the first player to net in their first five games at the competition since Colombia’s James Rodriguez in 2014.
Konsa, one of the men that will be tasked with keeping Haaland quiet in Miami on Saturday, believes he and Bellingham could battle for the honour of being the world’s best player for years to come.
Asked by ITV Sport whether Bellingham and Haaland could replicate the storied rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, Konsa said: “It very well could be.
“In 15 years’ time, I’ll probably be sitting on my sofa watching Haaland or Jude being one of the two GOATs of world football.”
Ahead of facing Norway, England have been eliminated from five of their last six World Cup knockout ties against fellow European teams, including each of their last three in a row.
However, England do possess a strong record against Norway – winning seven of the previous 12 meetings between the sides (D3 L2) – and Konsa believes nobody will want to play Thomas Tuchel’s side at this tournament.
He added: “Any team we come across, I’m sure they look at it and think, ‘this is going to be tough’.
“Harry Kane is a goalscorer. Jude is a goalscorer, and he provides goals as well, so why wouldn’t you want to rely on them?
“We have them for a reason, and we’re going to use them to the fullest that we can. So far it’s worked out nicely, and hopefully they can do the same on Saturday.”
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