Wayne Rooney has declared that Jude Bellingham's display against Mexico at the Azteca echoed two of English football's most iconic individual performances — Steven Gerrard's heroics in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final and Roy Keane's legendary showing against Juventus in 1999.

Bellingham, 23, delivered a stunning contribution as Thomas Tuchel's England beat Mexico 3-2 despite finishing with 10 men, scoring twice in the space of 98 seconds to help secure a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. England will now face Norway as they chase their first major international trophy since lifting the World Cup in 1966.

Speaking on his BBC podcast, Rooney — a former England striker who played for Manchester United and Everton — said he had always believed a defining Bellingham moment was coming. "I said Jude Bellingham was going to have a game when we're going to need him to drag us through," Rooney said.

He drew comparisons to two of the most celebrated midfield performances in English club football history. "You look at Steven Gerrard against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. Roy Keane against Juventus for Manchester United. They dragged the teams through them games. I felt like that was Bellingham's one with them two goals — the timing of the goals, his desire, his work rate, his hunger."

Gerrard scored the opening goal as Liverpool came back from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan in Istanbul on penalties. Keane, meanwhile, scored in United's extraordinary comeback against Juventus, overturning a 3-1 aggregate deficit — a performance made all the more remarkable by the fact that a yellow card had already ruled him out of the final that year.

Bellingham's contribution went beyond his two goals. The Real Madrid star also produced a crucial last-ditch tackle on Mexico defender Cesar Montes just before half-time, denying what appeared to be a certain goal that would have made it 2-2.

"At times defensively he's not always in the right positions, but his desire to get back and put that last-minute tackle in and help his teammates when they're not maybe having the best game was everything," Rooney added.

Rooney awarded the Real Madrid midfielder a perfect 10 out of 10, citing the pressure and the "pitfalls" that surrounded the match. "I just felt it was the right game to give him a 10 out of 10," he said.