Jude Bellingham said Harry Kane is “the best England player of all time” after the striker became the country's leading goalscorer at the World Cup.
Kane's second-half header completed a 2-0 win over Panama at the New Jersey Stadium, which saw him take his tally to 11 goals at the global tournament, moving clear of Gary Lineker.
With three goals during the group stage, Kane will be eyeing a tilt at winning the Golden Boot for a record second time, competing alongside Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr.
Bellingham, who created his header against Panama, said Kane is out on his own.
“I have built a good relationship with Harry over the last four or five years, especially after Qatar, playing so close together,” he said.
“It is an honour to play with him. For me he is the best England player of all time. He is the one who has showed up more than anyone, more than any other England player.
“It is quite easy to play with him in all honesty, he is at a level at the minute which is just incredible.
“You don't doubt him at all, in terms of whether he is involved or not, he is going to make a difference in the game and he did.”
“He continues to raise his level and it is incredible,” Bellingham said on ITV.
“It's everything he deserves. You see the effort he puts in as captain and how he leads us. His quality speaks for itself; he is the best.”
Bellingham scored the opener against the Central American side, shortly before creating Kane's goal.
No rest for Ronaldo
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended Cristiano Ronaldo after the star forward played another 90 minutes in the 0-0 Group K draw with Colombia.
Even as other star names were given rest in their final group games, Ronaldo was kept on the field. Argentina's Lionel Messi did not start the final group game against Jordan, while Norway's Erling Haaland was rested, but Ronaldo has played every minute of every game so far.
The 41-year-old forward has faced criticism for his lack of contribution in Portugal games, particularly his limited defensive work, but Martinez defended his star player.
“Obviously we don't compare players in our team with other players to make decisions. I think that would be quite childish and very unprofessional,” he said.
“I can tell you that we monitor all the [player] information that we get live during the games.
“There are different positions on the pitch that need different needs and we monitor that down to the detail.
“Cristiano is used to being in the right place at the right time. It's more a question of mentally being strong and always being disciplined in his position.
“There is no issue, physically or mentally, for Cristiano in today's game to play the 90 minutes. Maybe the next game we need to make a change, but that's like any other player.”
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan manager Fabio Cannavaro highlighted the unforgiving nature of the World Cup after seeing his side lose all three games and exit the tournament.
Cannavaro's team came into Saturday's final Group K game on the back of defeats to Colombia and Portugal in which they conceded eight goals. His team fell to a 3-1 loss against Democratic Republic of Congo, who reached the knockout rounds.
“You think I'm not nervous, I'm not angry? I don't feel good because I don't like to lose,” Cannavaro said.
“We made some mistakes, of course, but I cannot complain about my players. I never will complain about my players because I know and I told you, you were in the press conference and you know what I said the first day when we saw the draw."
