Jude Bellingham could become England’s second all-time World Cup top scorer with three more goals

England’s greatest World Cup scorers have historically been forwards. Gary Lineker was a striker. Harry Kane is a striker. Jude Bellingham is a midfielder, and he is about to gate-crash their exclusive club.

With six goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and seven across his entire World Cup career, Bellingham sits third on England’s all-time World Cup scoring list. Three more goals, and he leapfrogs Gary Lineker’s tally of 10 to become the second-highest scorer in England’s World Cup history, behind only Kane’s 14.

England has a semi-final against Argentina and a potential final still to play. The math is very much alive.

What Bellingham has already done

Six goals in a single World Cup tournament is not just impressive, it’s historically rare for an English player. Bellingham has tied the record for the most goals scored by an England player in a single World Cup, a mark set by Lineker at the 1986 tournament in Mexico and matched by Kane in 2018.

His first World Cup goal came at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. He has scored six in 2026, bringing his career World Cup total to seven.

Bellingham and Kane between them have been directly involved in 12 of England’s 13 goals at this tournament.

The historical company he’s keeping

Kane’s 14 goals make him the clear record holder. Lineker’s 10 goals put him comfortably in second. Bellingham’s seven goals have him in third, and the gap to Lineker is now just three. The gap to Kane is seven. With two matches remaining in the best case scenario, the arithmetic for catching Lineker is genuinely realistic.

Bellingham is competing for a place in this conversation at an age when Lineker had barely established himself as a top-flight striker. He turned 21 in June 2024. The 2030 World Cup would find him at 27, the peak of a modern footballer’s career.

Why this matters beyond the record books

Bellingham plays for Real Madrid, one of the highest-profile club platforms in world football. His performances at this World Cup, if they culminate in England lifting the trophy or in him finishing as the tournament’s leading scorer, would represent a commercial inflection point for his brand.

For England, the country has not won a World Cup since 1966. Reaching the semi-final in 2026 is the deep run their supporters have been waiting for, and having a 23-year-old midfielder as the tournament’s most productive English player gives the squad a generational quality that suggests this run is not a one-off.

Two matches remain. The record is three goals away. The Argentina semi-final arrives first.

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