Jude Bellingham gets the meme treatment as he swaps shirts with an Albania player at HALF TIME of England World Cup qualifier

Jude Bellingham sparked a flurry of memes after swapping shirts at half time during England's World Cup qualifier in Albania.

The Real Madrid midfielder exchanged tops with Albania's Kristjan Asllani as the teams walked off in Tirana, with television cameras clearly showing the pair handing over their shirts before heading for the tunnel.

The moment triggered an immediate reaction online as supporters questioned why the exchange had taken place mid-match rather than at full time.

One fan wrote: 'Bellingham swapping shirts at half-time???? WTF do it at full time!' 

Another added: 'What was Jude Bellingham doing swapping shirts at half time? It's a competitive international football match!!!'

But the reaction quickly shifted into meme territory. One user posted an image of Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche bearing the caption 'utter woke nonsense', an image routinely used during fraught online discussions on the state of the game. 

Another shared a famous Roy Keane reaction shot, capturing the former midfielder's fury, with the caption: 'Bellingham swapping shirts at HT…' 

Others treated it with more humour, with one post reading: 'Bellingham and an Albanian player swapping shirts at half time in a qualifier… at least wait for full time,' while another shared a screenshot of the exchange alongside the caption: 'Don't you normally swap shirts at full time?'

The shirt swap briefly overshadowed what had been a straightforward night for the visitors, who arrived in Tirana with top spot in Group F already secured and looking o end the campaign with a perfect record. 

Albania had also wrapped up their play-off place earlier in the week after beating Andorra. 

Bellingham returned to the starting XI for the final fixture in the group after beginning Thursday's match against Serbia on the bench.