Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

STUNNING BOW KEPT ME AWAKE

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FROM JOHN CROSS in Doha JUDE BELLINGHAM revealed he was so excited after his stunning World Cup debut that he could not sleep.

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder was the star of the show in England’s glorious six-goal win over Iran, announcing himself on the big stage with a sparkling all-round performanc­e and the opening goal.

But Bellingham (above) also insisted he needs to get his feet back on the ground ready to face the USA on Friday.

The England star, 19, talking on the FA’S Lions’ Den show with M&S Food, said: “It is difficult to sleep.

“I was up all night trying to reply to messages and speak to people about the game.

“It was a really nice day for us, but there is a level of profession­alism when it comes to being ready the next day, recovering and just making sure we’re good to go again on Friday.

“Because in the World Cup you don’t get given a trophy for winning one game, you need to maintain it over the course of seven games.”

Bellingham was thrilled to net his first goal for England and added: “I can’t stop smiling. I’ve scored quite a few goals this season, in some pretty big games, but that tops anything that I have ever scored.

“That feeling thinking, have I really just done that?… I was thinking this can’t be real.”

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