John Terry compares Jude Bellingham to Zinedine Zidane as he warns England they MUST stop Arsenal star to progress past Norway at World Cup

The former Chelsea captain has seen enough of Bellingham’s World Cup heroics to put the midfielder in the same bracket as football royalty. Following England's pulsating 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Azteca, where Bellingham netted twice, Terry admitted he is seeing flashes of Zidane in the 23-year-old’s game.

Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Terry was effusive in his praise, stating: "You see Jude last night, I compared him to Zinedine Zidane and I was maybe a little bit ambitious, but look at that game last night with what he’s doing, he is unbelievable. His two goals just topped it off for me and what a ball from Harry Kane was well for his second goal."

While Bellingham is stealing the headlines, Terry believes the core of this England squad is what makes them genuine contenders to lift the trophy. The former defender highlighted a specific group of players who have stepped up to lead the Three Lions into the final eight of the competition.

Terry noted: "They cannot get injured and have to be at the forefront of our success. Without those guys driving the team, driving the standards... there’s leaders in the group. Harry Kane, we’ve seen that in his football career, Jude Bellingham at that young age doing that already, Declan Rice, I’m also including Reece James in that."

Despite the euphoria of beating Mexico, a daunting quarter-final against Norway awaits. Terry is adamant that the key to victory lies in shackling Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, who he views as the heartbeat of the Norwegian side. The midfielder was instrumental in Norway's shock victory over Brazil earlier in the tournament.

Terry warned Tuchel's men: "Listen, Norway are a good side. I think they’re well drilled. I think everything that goes well through that team goes through Martin Odegaard. If England stop him and Erling Haaland then we have a big, big chance."

Neutralising Odegaard is only half the battle, as Haaland continues to terrorise defences with seven goals in just four games, putting the Manchester City striker level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Terry, a master of the defensive arts, offered some stern advice to Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa on how to deal with the Manchester City machine, pointing to Gabriel Magalhaes' errors as a lesson.

Discussing the tactical approach, Terry said: "It’s difficult because he can just run in behind you. He’s so powerful and so quick so you always have to be aware of that. Who else have they got in the box? One or two others but they’re not as big a threat as Haaland so whoever is marking Haaland in the box, stay tight with him, stay fully focussed on him, be really selfish and take him out the game because at any moment… Harry Kane does it, all the top strikers do it, and Haaland does it probably better than anybody."