As the 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded last weekend, fans picked their best XI of the tournament and it featured two former Borussia Dortmund stars.
England's Jude Bellingham and Norway's Erling Haaland both made the cut as the ex-BVB teammates enjoyed a memorable run with their respective national teams.
Bellingham, England's ace scorer
Everyone expected Harry Kane to emerge as England's chief goalscorer and for good reasons too. He's been the face of Three Lions squad in recent times and was coming off the back of his best season yet, having netted 61 times in all competitions with Bayern Munich last term.
However, Jude Bellingham usurped his teammate from the mantle of England's talisman and plonked his own self upon it as the former Dortmund great scored seven times at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, winning the Bronze Boot. Interestingly, five of his strikes came in the knockout stages.
Only a midfielder by trade, the 23-year-old struck twice against Mexico in the Round of 16 before another match-winning brace against Haaland's Norway in the quarter-finals. Though Argentina managed to curb his influence, he came off the bench in their third-place playoff win against France to score a lovely individual goal, tip-toeing his way past markers inside the box before making a sublime finish into the far corner.
Haaland guided Norway into first ever World Cup quarter-final
All eyes were on Erling Haaland as Norway qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1998 and he didn't disappoint. The former Borussia Dortmund marksman scored in every game except the England one, including a stoppage-time winner against Ivory Coast in the Round of 32 before a late brace against giants Brazil in the next round.
With seven goals under his belt, Haaland set the record for the most number of goals scored by a Norwegian at a single World Cup edition as well as the most struck by a player on their tournament debut.
Bellingham, Haaland bromance among World Cup storylines
Ahead of England and Norway's exciting matchup on 11 July, much of the pre-match storyline was about the friendship shared by Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland, shaped during their time together at Signal Iduna Park.
When the pair met on the field, they didn't disappoint. There was no love lost between them as the former Dortmund teammates were seen smiling at each other, exchanging pleasanteries and giving each other a warm embrace after the full-time whistle.
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