Жүүд Беллингхэмийн гайхалтай тоглолт Английн шигшээг урагшлуулж байна

Watching Jude Bellingham at this World Cup has been to witness that rare moment when a player begins to go from good to great.

Against Croatia, it was the galloping run through opposition territory to score England’s third. Against Panama, it was sticking out a clever leg for the first goal, and chipping the left-footed cross for the second.

And against Mexico, well, take your pick.

The diving header for the first goal? The relentlessness to sweep in a second a minute later? The vital tackle at the far post when England were wobbling? The spin and run through the middle of the pitch on the counter? Or just the remarkable physical commitment of it all, the insistence on pushing and pushing and pushing himself to the limit in pursuit of his prize? No wonder Bellingham looked so physically and emotionally spent at the end.

There is something thrilling about watching Bellingham in this mood, a growing sense that he will insist on determining the outcome of this competition, in the same way that Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will see that as their right. The days when his place in the starting XI was being openly questioned — former England striker Alan Shearer, for one, thought Morgan Rogers should start ahead of him for the opening game against Croatia — seem very long ago.

But there has been another visible side to Bellingham at this World Cup. Comforting and swapping shirts with Mexican teenager Gilberto Mora in the tunnel after the game on Sunday night. Stopping to speak to a reporter from Venezuela to offer words of encouragement in Spanish. Giving a touching interview about how much his late grandfather meant to him, and the patriotism he inspired in a young Jude.

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Put it all together, and Bellingham has, at least from the outside, appeared more confident and at home this tournament than ever before. He has earned the nickname ‘Unc’ from his close friends in camp, Rogers and Jordan Henderson, in a jokey reference to his seniority (despite only turning 23 last week), and has introduced a new card game, Skyjo, to the squad to help wile away the hours at their Kansas City training base.

Bellingham still does not do all the media commitments that some of his team-mates do. He arrived late for a FIFA commitment when England were in Florida after doing an extra gym session, but apologised profusely for keeping the cameraman waiting.

But when Bellingham does talk, he is more open and not as defensive as he was in Euro 2024. After his famous overhead kick equaliser against Slovakia, he used a press conference to rail against the “rubbish” and the “pile-on” of criticism England had faced for their performances. There were moments during that campaign when Bellingham did not look especially happy, on or off the pitch.

But we must remember that Bellingham only turned 21 during that Euros. And it is the unfortunate obligation of brilliant young footballers to grow up in public. It might be that Bellingham is now just more relaxed, more at ease — perhaps even more mature — at this World Cup than he has been in the past.

Rogers does not see it that way. Speaking at a press conference in Kansas City on Wednesday, Rogers was asked whether this was a happier, more comfortable Bellingham than we have seen before. Not quite.

“I always get that feeling from him,” Rogers said. “He gives that at every camp I’ve been on with him. And away from camp, that’s the type of person he is. You see his hunger to win, his drive, how much it means to him to decide these matches and to be the man to take us forward. Everyone at their happiest is always playing better, and he’s really happy; he’s really enjoying his football.”

What is so impressive about Bellingham’s World Cup is that it has come after one of the more difficult seasons of his career. Bellingham had shoulder surgery last July, missed the September international camp and was not called up in October either. Rogers, his great friend, took his place as No 10. Bellingham then picked up a muscle injury, which meant he did not play for England in their March friendlies either. Before the World Cup started, he had only started one competitive international — a dead rubber in Albania — all year.

But in Rogers’ mind, all that missed football could be the best thing that ever happened to Bellingham. “I think the injury this season helped him actually, with the break,” he said. “He’s played a lot of games over the last few years, so I think that will have done him a world of good. He was just chomping at the bit to go and play and play again.”

Even aside from the injuries, it was not the happiest season for Bellingham at club level. He was part of a Real Madrid side that had a miserable year, finishing trophyless for the first time since 2020-21. Bellingham, like a lot of Real Madrid’s big players, did not especially click with the ideas of Xabi Alonso at the start of last season, but he was always rated as one of the hardest-working and most professional players at the club.

When Alvaro Arbeloa replaced Alonso, the new manager loved working with Bellingham. There have been few questions about his maturity or otherwise in Madrid. He is already considered one of the leaders there, in one of the most challenging environments in world football. And he will be one of the building blocks of their new era under Jose Mourinho starting next summer.

In fact, the story of Bellingham’s career so far is that he has always been seen as uncannily mature and confident for his age. We are now 10 years into Bellingham’s involvement with England. It was the summer of 2016 when Bellingham, who had just turned 13, was brought into the England under-15s squad, part of a new FA experiment to accelerate the development of the country’s best young players. Bellingham, along with Jamal Musiala, was identified as being worthy of fast-tracking into the England system.

Soon enough, Bellingham was not just starring for the England age-group teams; he was leading them, too. The FA wanted to develop the youngsters’ ability to communicate, and so after every game players would be asked to analyse England’s performance and then present the findings to the squad. Bellingham was so naturally assured that people were taken aback. “It was ridiculous how confident he was in the classroom,” one of his coaches Richie Kyle told The Athletic in 2024. “All of the group looked up to him because of it.”

Bellingham’s maturity beyond his years even extended to collecting other players’ cups and plates after team meals and making sure to provide a friendly welcome to new players who had joined the group. This side of Bellingham, reaching a confident arm out for other people, is one that has been seen more and more this tournament. And this environment — out here representing his country — is one that he has been training for for a decade.

Bellingham sinks to his haunches, exhausted after the Mexico game (Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)

The result is there for all to see. Not just a Bellingham on top of his game, on top of the world, but someone who lifts the whole team. Perhaps the most remarkable thing — especially in contrast to Euro 2024 — is what Bellingham has done for Harry Kane.

For all Kane’s brilliance and technical mastery, he is a player who performs best when he has a reliable partner, someone who makes the runs that he does not, and creates the space that he thrives in. For years for England, that was Raheem Sterling, who had a brilliant partnership with Kane, their understanding integral to England’s peak under Gareth Southgate, reaching the semis of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020.

But Southgate dropped Sterling during the 2022 World Cup, and he never played for England again. Without Sterling, Kane looked slightly lost.

At Euro 2024, Southgate never found the right balance, with Bellingham and Phil Foden both tangling in that same space behind Kane. Bellingham was the only one who seemed to make it work. Tuchel had the clarity of mind to know that there was no way he could ever get Kane, Bellingham and Foden on the pitch together, so it was not even worth trying. So he did not even bring Foden and built the team around Bellingham and Kane as a partnership up front.

Remember that it was Bellingham who crossed for Kane’s header against Panama. That it was Kane’s run that created the space for Bellingham’s first header in Mexico, and Kane’s return pass to Bellingham that set up his second. The pre-tournament talk that they did not combine well together, that they needed to work on their relationship, now feels like ancient history.

And England, with not one but two world-class players, at ease with themselves and each other, are reaping the benefit.