🚨🗣️ Elliot Anderson on the physical nature of the game and the early incident with Enzo Fernández:
"To be completely honest, the first ten minutes were an absolute blur. I remember turning to protect the ball, and the next thing I know, I felt a massive knock on the back of my head from Enzo. Everything went dark, and I was completely out for a few seconds.
When I finally came to, the medical staff were asking me if I knew where I was. But it’s a World Cup semi-final, you don't come off the pitch unless your legs are broken. You just keep fighting. But when you look back at that moment... how a player can intentionally strike someone in the back of the head and only get a verbal warning, I will never understand. It immediately set the tone for the refereeing for the rest of the night. We came out here expecting a football match, but it felt like they were allowed to play by a completely different set of rules."
🚨 Jude Bellingham on what he said to Lionel Messi during the game:
🗣️: “I went over to Messi and said, ‘I’ve been seeing all the complaints from other countries throughout the tournament… now I’m experiencing it first-hand.’
“Every 50/50 tackle went in their favor, their equalizer was an offside goal, Enzo Fernandes should have been sent off in the first half and it should be concerning to every one of us.
Congratulations to Argentina, now I believe everything the Egyptian players and coach said.”