England defender Ezri Konsa believes Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland could cement a Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi-like rivalry over the next two decades.
The former Borussia Dortmund team-mates will have to set their close friendship aside when England and Norway clash in Miami on Saturday for a spot in the World Cup semifinals.
Konsa, the only outfield player to have featured in every minute of England’s campaign, agreed the pair are just at the beginning of headline-making careers.
Asked by ITV if they might eventually mimic the profile of Ronaldo and Messi’s storied rivalry, Konsa replied: “It very well could be. You’ve got Neymar coming up as well, who is another top, top, top player, so in 15 years’ time, I’ll probably be sitting on my sofa watching Haaland or Jude being one of the two GOATs [greatest of all time] of world football.”
Messi leads the Golden Boot race alongside France forward Kylian Mbappé, who added his eighth goal of the World Cup in Thursday’s 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Morocco, though would have surpassed the Argentina great had his penalty not been saved.
Haaland has one fewer, while Bellingham, who Konsa believes “everyone can see” has “upped his game since Euro 2024”, is one of five players in joint sixth with four goals.
England has at times been criticised for their dependency on Bellingham and captain Harry Kane — fourth on that table with six goals — but Konsa sees it differently.
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He told the BBC: “Any team we come across I’m sure they look at it and think ‘this is going to be tough’.
“Harry Kane is a goalscorer. Jude Bellingham is a goalscorer, provides goals as well, so why wouldn’t you want to rely on them?
“We have them for a reason, and we’re going to use them to the fullest that we can.
“So far it’s worked out nicely, and hopefully they can do the same on Saturday.”
