England midfielder Jude Bellingham has explained his exchange with Lionel Messi in the World Cup semifinal, which ended in defeat for the English side, according to infohub.kz.
The incident occurred in the first half after a foul: the players exchanged heated words. Bellingham stressed that the clash should not be exaggerated. "Actually, we were discussing the foul, but there was nothing bad at all. I'm sure everyone will make a big deal out of it, but no, nothing serious happened. I thought there was a foul earlier, and he said, 'What about the one on me?' And I just replied, 'You're strong enough to take those moments,'" Bellingham told The Sun.
The Englishman added that he respects Messi despite the painful defeat. He called playing against the Argentine a privilege and said he was glad to face one of the best players in history. "Playing against him is a privilege, I had nothing against him. Of course, I ended up on the losing side, which hurts a lot, but playing against one of the best is a privilege," Bellingham said.
The match ended 2-1 in favor of Argentina. England took the lead through Anthony Gordon, but Lionel Scaloni's team responded with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez. Argentina advanced to the World Cup final, where they will face Spain. England will meet France in the third-place match.
At this World Cup, Bellingham has scored six goals. He is England's joint top scorer with Harry Kane and also led the team in several attacking categories.