Jude Bellingham has declined the official Man of the Match award from England's goalless draw with Ghana, insisting that no England player merited the honour — and that the prize should have gone to one of Ghana's defenders instead.

Bellingham was named the competition's official winner of the award despite registering only one shot and one key pass before being withdrawn in the 72nd minute, replaced by Morgan Rogers. The Real Madrid midfielder admitted he was taken aback by the recognition.

"I didn't deserve it, to be honest — it should have gone to one of their lads who defended so well. I had a couple of moments. It was hard to get into the game, and I'm grateful for whoever voted, but it should've gone to one of their lads who defended so well, so fair play to them," Bellingham told FIFA's in-house media after the match.

The midfielder also acknowledged a pattern that has become familiar in England's tournament campaigns: "Like always, it's second-game fever, isn't it, with England: win the first one, do well, and draw the second. But it's OK. I think they played for a draw as it would have seen them go through and fair play to them, they got a great draw."

Rice frustrated but optimistic

Declan Rice echoed the mood of disappointment, though he remained upbeat ahead of the group finale. Speaking to the BBC, Rice said the nature of Ghana's deep defensive block made England's task particularly difficult.

"It's always difficult to play against 11 behind the ball as deep as they were, so you've got to find solutions. In the last ten minutes we probably found more than we did all game, and we were unlucky not to score. But we stay positive, we keep going, and we've still got a great chance to top the group against Panama."

England had opened their Group L campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia and now need only a win against Panama to secure their place in the round of 32. The match is scheduled for MetLife Stadium, just outside New York City, on Saturday, with kick-off at 5pm local time (10pm UK time). A victory for Thomas Tuchel's side would guarantee progression.