Jude Bellingham Stuns Fans by Winning a World Cup Award He Never Knew Existed

Jude Bellingham has shared his reaction on social media after receiving the 2026 World Cup Bronze Boot—an accolade he admitted he had no idea existed until it arrived at his door.

England's standout midfielder had an impressive summer, scoring seven goals under Thomas Tuchel's management, though he departed with a sense of disappointment after the Three Lions were eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina.

A third-place finish was not the only thing Bellingham brought back from North America, as he used his JB5 app to announce he had received the Bronze Boot—the prize awarded to the tournament's third-highest goalscorer.

Bellingham's tally of seven goals was surpassed only by Lionel Messi, who quietly received the Silver Boot for his eight goals, and Kylian Mbappé, whose 10-goal haul earned him the Golden Boot.

"Bronze Boot from the WC..." Bellingham posted. "Didn't know it was a thing but thanks anyway."

The History of the Bronze Boot

Although Bellingham was clearly unaware of it, the Bronze Boot was actually first presented back in 1982—the inaugural World Cup to feature physical goalscoring awards.

Originally called the Bronze Shoe, Brazilian legend Zico was the first-ever recipient, claiming the honour for his four goals at the 1982 World Cup held in Spain.

However, the award was only given out intermittently across the six tournaments that followed. There were no recipients in 1986, 1998 or 2002, when two players tied for the Silver Shoe and two of those awards were distributed instead.

Legends including Gary Lineker, Roger Milla, Romário and Ronaldo all claimed the Bronze Shoe before the award was rebranded from Shoe to Boot in 2010.

Bellingham becomes the fifth player to receive the Bronze Boot under its current name, joining an elite group of global stars. Dutch icon Wesley Sneijder was the first, followed by Neymar, Romelu Lukaku and Olivier Giroud, who held the honour before the Real Madrid midfielder claimed it this summer.

With seven goals to his credit, Bellingham is the highest-scoring third-place finisher in World Cup scoring history, aided in large part by the expanded format of this summer's competition. Before this tournament, seven goals would have been enough to claim the Golden Boot at all but eight World Cups since the competition began in 1930.

World Cup Bronze Boot History