Real Madrid teammates Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni recalled England's exit at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar against France in an amusing Twitter exchange.
Tchouameni tweeted a picture of himself striking a ball in Madrid training that Bellingham attempted to block. It mirrored his strike that sent France on their way to a 2-1 win over England at last year's World Cup.
The French midfielder uploaded a snap of his effort in the quarterfinal win against Bellingham's Three Lions alongside the training picture. He captioned the two images:
"Same action but not the same finish today."
Bellingham reacted by joking about an agreement the duo had about not discussing England's painful exit to France:
"Thought we agreed not to talk about that day."
The new Real Madrid teammates appear to be enjoying one another's company both on and off the pitch. Bellingham, 20, became Los Blancos' second most expensive player earlier this summer. The English midfielder joined Carlo Ancelotti's side from Borussia Dortmund for €103 million.
However, Bellingham came up against his new teammate Tchouameni at the World Cup in December last year. It was France who marched onto the semifinals, with England crashing out in heartbreaking fashion.
Tchouameni opened the scoring in the 17th minute with his superb strike. However, Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. Olivier Giroud then scored the winner in the 78th minute before Kane fired another penalty high over the crossbar.
Bellingham reacts to scoring on debut in Real Madrid's win over Athletic Bilbao
The England international has already grabbed his first competitive goal for Real Madrid, and he did so on his La Liga debut. Bellingham struck in the 36th minute to extend Los Blancos' lead and put the seal on a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao.
The new Madrid midfielder was thrilled to get on the scoresheet but insisted that the team's win was the most important (via The National News):
"It's really special; the most important thing is the win."
Bellingham's teammates appear to be loving playing alongside the young Englishman. Rodrygo, who opened the scoring in the 28th minute, lavished praise on his new teammate:
"I'm very happy to play with (Bellingham). He's a great player, and I'm sure he'll help us a lot this season."
Ancelotti's men will next be in action on Saturday (August 19) when they travel to the Estadio Mediterraneo to face Almeria. Bellingham will look to put in another impressive display at the start of his Real Madrid career.