England looked in trouble in the 35th minute against Mexico, as El Tri had out-played the Three Lions in front of a raucous crowd at the Estadio Azteca, but Jude Bellingham came to the rescue with two goals in two minutes to secure his country’s place in the quarterfinals. At that stage, they again looked to be in trouble, down 1-0 against Norway nearing the halftime break, but Bellingham struck again right before halftime and right at the start of extra time to clinch a semifinal berth.
Bellingham will now have a chance to take his country to where it hasn’t been since that glorious moment in 1966, when it beat West Germany, 4-2, to claim its first and (to this point) only World Cup. England might need a goal from him to top defending World Cup champions Argentina at 3 p.m. ET this afternoon in Atlanta.
England vs. Argentina odds, bracket scenarios
The Three Lions are +165 favorites to win in regular time (-120 to advance to the final) at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the Albiceleste are +200 (+100 to advance). There are +190 odds that the teams will require extra time. The winner will go on to face Spain, which upset France in the other semifinal yesterday.
Jude Bellingham Best Prop Bet
Jude Bellingham Anytime Goalscorer (Including Extra Time) (+240): Bellingham just has a nose for goal, scoring a brace in each of his past two games, and three of his last four goals have come from close-range after well-placed crosses. England should have plenty of opportunities to whip passes across the middle against Argentina, given how much its wing-backs have struggled in the knockouts.
Best Jude Bellingham Prop Bet
Jude Bellingham Anytime Goalscorer (Including Extra Time) (+240)
This is a pretty simple one, but +240 odds for a guy who’s scored in four of his team’s six games so far, is tied for the team lead in goals, and has a brace in each of his past two games seems like excellent value. Of England’s six-goal players, Harry Kane might be more likely to score, but the odds reflect that. There’s no reason Bellingham should have longer odds than Ollie Watkins, who’s played just seven minutes this tournament, and Ivan Toney, who hasn’t played at all. Bellingham ranks sixth in non-penalty goals and eighth in shots on target per 90 minutes, and he also ranks in the top 50 in progressive carries ending in a shot. He consistently puts himself in the right positions, both dropping back deeper into midfield to collect and making well-timed runs to the net.
Argentina’s defense has looked vulnerable in the knockout rounds. Though the Albiceleste still have strong on-paper stats, allowing fewer expected goals per match than every team but La Roja, their wing-backs have struggled. Nicolás Tagliafico provided little resistance against Haissem Hassan before his assist to Mostafa Ziko to go up 2-0 in the Round of 16, and defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes and right-back Nahuel Molina both lost Dan Ndoye on his way to an easy equalizer for Switzerland. Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon are too fast and too capable of well-placed crosses not to find Bellingham in the middle.
