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18th October 2023
11:07am BST
Joe Cole didn't quite compare Jude Bellingham to Lionel Messi but believes that he can have a similar impact as the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Bellingham produced another man-of-the-match display once again as England confirmed qualification for Euro 2024 by beating Italy 3-1.
The 20-year-old won the penalty for the Three Lions' equaliser and set up Marcus Rashford with a beautiful pass before making an exceptional decoy run to give Rashford the space to cut inside and fire past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
His performances for both club and country have even got people suggesting he is one of the best players in the world right now while Cole believes his attitude on the pitch can help guide Gareth Southgate's side to glory in Germany next year.
"I wont compare him to Messi but when Messi led Argentina to world cup, he can be that type of leader, Messi at 20 wasn't that mature," Cole said on Channel 4.
"Don Carlo [Ancelotti] will be looking after him [at Real Madrid], he has fallen on his feet with Kylian Mbappe probably turning up next year.
"I can understand it, at Madrid, top of tree, why would you come home? If you go there and win it all you might be thinking you might want to do it at home, but when you're at a top club there is no reason to leave. You are at top of tree."
Rashford also had plenty of praise for his teammate, saying: "He is unbelievable player, not just qualities but full of energy everywhere on pitch.
"He is a joy to play with and we hope he can continue form. He didn't score today but you can see the huge influence he has going forward and it's huge boost for the team."
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