Jude Bellingham caught ‘slapping’ Argentina star after loss as players clash | Football | Sport

Jude Bellingham‘s frustrations seemed to reach breaking point after England crashed out of the World Cup when cameras captured him apparently slapping Valentin Barco. Barco had been linking arms with Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez when Bellingham approached the trio. The Real Madrid star reached out and appeared to strike Barco around the back of the head, prompting an incensed response.

The full-back wheeled around and confronted Bellingham, sparking the latest flashpoint in a match that had been threatening to erupt from the opening whistle. “Bellingham a bum. What’s he smacking Barco on the head for,” one supporter raged on social media. “Bellingham went to slap Barco during Argentina celebration. Pathetic, sore, loser,” a second commented.

While a third posted: “Bellingham is very stupid for slapping Barco in the head like that. Is he the one that asked you lots to bottle the game?” And another remarked: “Look at whiny Bellingham after disappearing the whole match, taking a swing at Colo Barco after Argentina’s victory!”

There were unsavoury scenes in Atlanta as Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers needed to be pulled away from the confrontation. There is not yet any explanation for what caused Bellingham’s anger.

It proved a match brimming with tension, with Argentina attempting to wind up the England players, particularly Bellingham, throughout the 90 minutes.

BBC Sport co-commentator and former England skipper Alan Shearer said: “I think the best team won. You can’t complain about that, you’ve got to be open and honest about it, their reaction was magnificent.

“They hit the post a couple of times, England got lucky. But how they didn’t panic, stuck to their gameplan, believed in what they were doing, and they did it.

“The substitutions worked, you have to admire, respect the way they came back into the game. They deserve to be in the final on Sunday, as much as it hurts me to say.”

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There were tears from the Argentinians after staging yet another dramatic escape, having already navigated tricky encounters with Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland on their route to the final. Lionel Scaloni’s side required extra time to overcome the two African nations and exploited a numerical advantage to see off the Swiss.

England attempted to protect their narrow advantage with Tuchel making a raft of substitutions and choosing to close out the match against the reigning champions. Argentina responded with a flurry of offensive changes and a rapid-fire brace completely transformed the semi-final.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager may face scrutiny for adopting a defensive approach with just 15 minutes left on the clock. Wayne Rooney believed England invited the onslaught and were made to pay for those final 25 minutes.

He said: “When you’re in a fight, you have to stay on top. We go one-nil up, sit back, make changes and go six at the back, if you allow Messi to come on to you and Argentina, you’re asking for trouble.”

It means England will now compete for third place, just as they did at the 2018 World Cup following their semi-final loss to Croatia, where they will face France.