England news: Bukayo Saka hails ‘special’ Jude Bellingham after Nations League performances

Bukayo Saka has hailed Jude Bellingham as “special” after the Real Madrid midfielder played a starring role in England’s 7-0 destruction of Croatia.

Bellingham scored one goal and created three more as Thomas Tuchel’s side produced a dominant performance in Rijeka, with Saka also finding the net twice.

Saka, who was named England’s men’s player of the year for 2025/26, believes Bellingham deserved to take the individual honours on the night after another influential display.

Energetic showing 

“It was an amazing night for us,” Saka told ITV.

“We played with high energy and spirit and punished them tonight.”

Saka was particularly impressed by Bellingham’s contribution, having benefited directly from the midfielder’s creativity during the emphatic victory.

A ‘special’ player

“He was amazing tonight to be fair,” Saka said.

“He deserved player of the year and he probably deserves man of the match tonight as well. He was special. Happy to play with him and happy to have him in the England team.”

Bellingham’s performance also caught the attention of Roy Keane, who claimed the 23-year-old can eventually become one of the greatest players in football history.

Tuchel was similarly pleased with the midfielder’s progress, although the England manager stressed that continued improvement is essential.

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Next game always the most important 

“Yes, at the moment it seems like [that] and you always need to,” Tuchel said when asked whether Bellingham had taken another step forward.

“The level that you showed last week is never enough in the next week, that's just the nature of football.”

Tuchel also praised the wider group for translating the work done on the training ground into their performance against Croatia.

Players deliver on adjustments 

“We adjusted some things, gave the players a lot of responsibility and they are a group to be trusted,” he said.

“It was impressive. It was the first time that this group played like this together again and they were very good and the translation from the last two matches, from the training sessions and the meetings into this match was on the highest level.”

Bellingham’s display came as England strengthened their position in Nations League Group A3 with six points from three matches.

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