Jude Bellingham has ended England’s 2026 World Cup campaign with a new national goalscoring record.
After checking the claim against official England records and match reports, the central detail is confirmed: Bellingham is the first England men’s player to score seven goals during a single major tournament, covering both FIFA World Cups and UEFA European Championships.
The 23-year-old reached the landmark during England’s extraordinary 6-4 victory over France in the World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, 18 July.
A Record-Breaking Goal In Stoppage Time
Bellingham began the match on the bench as England manager Thomas Tuchel made several changes following the semi-final defeat to Argentina.
He was introduced at around the 80th minute, with France pushing hard after recovering from a four-goal deficit.
Ousmane Dembélé made it 5-4 in the sixth minute of added time, leaving England under pressure once again.
Two minutes later, Bellingham took control.
The midfielder carried the ball forward, moved past defender Maxence Lacroix and finished the solo run to make it 6-4. The goal arrived at 90+8 and finally ended France’s hopes of completing the comeback.
It was his seventh goal of the competition and the one that placed him alone at the top of England’s single-tournament scoring list.
Where Did Bellingham’s Seven Goals Come From?
Bellingham found the net throughout England’s World Cup campaign rather than collecting his total in just one or two matches.
He scored once against Croatia and once against Panama during the group stage.
He then struck twice against co-hosts Mexico in the round of 16 before adding another two goals against Norway in the quarter-finals. His final strike came against France in the bronze-medal match.
His 2026 World Cup scoring record was:
Croatia: One goal
Panama: One goal
Mexico: Two goals
Norway: Two goals
France: One goal
That gave him seven goals across five different matches.
Moving Ahead Of Kane And Lineker
Before the France match, Bellingham shared the England men’s major-tournament record with Harry Kane and Gary Lineker.
Lineker scored six goals at the 1986 World Cup, while Kane reached the same total during England’s run to the 2018 semi-finals. Kane also scored six at the 2026 tournament but remained an unused substitute against France.
Bellingham’s seventh goal moved him clear of both players.
England Football’s list of leading single-tournament scorers now begins with:
Jude Bellingham — seven goals, 2026 World Cup
Harry Kane — six goals, 2018 World Cup
Harry Kane — six goals, 2026 World Cup
Gary Lineker — six goals, 1986 World Cup
Alan Shearer — five goals, Euro 1996
Eight World Cup Goals Overall
Bellingham also scored during England’s 6-2 victory over Iran at the 2022 World Cup, when his header opened the scoring and gave him his first senior international goal.
Adding that goal to his seven in 2026 takes his career World Cup total to eight.
Based on FIFA’s scoring figures before the bronze final, that places Bellingham third among England men for total World Cup goals. Harry Kane has 14 and Gary Lineker has 10.
A Ten-Goal Thriller In Miami
Bellingham’s achievement came at the end of one of the competition’s most dramatic matches.
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled England’s advantage. Bukayo Saka then scored twice to send England into half-time with a 4-0 lead.
France responded after the break through Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola and another Mbappé goal, reducing England’s lead to 4-3.
Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before late goals from Dembélé and Bellingham produced the final 6-4 scoreline.
The ten goals set a new record for a World Cup third-place playoff and made it the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary’s 10-1 victory over El Salvador in 1982.
England Finish Third For The First Time
The victory gave England their first third-place finish at a men’s World Cup.
They had previously lost bronze-medal matches against Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018. This result was also England’s best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
England may have travelled to North America hoping to lift the trophy, but the campaign still ended with a medal, a ten-goal thriller and a major personal milestone for Bellingham.
For the Real Madrid midfielder, one final run in the 98th minute was enough to turn an already impressive tournament into a record-breaking one.
