Jude-fever. Bellingham Mania. No one has come up with a catchy name for it yet, but it’s happening. A London train stop called Bellingham Station has been renamed to “Jude Bellingham.” West Midlands Railway is offering a free train ride to anyone named Jude. “Hey Jude” is on the playlist after every England win, along with “Three Lions” and “Wonderwall”, the only song to have its ballad.
Just a few weeks ago, this World Cup looked like it was going to be Harry Kane’s tournament. It could be Kane’s peak at the end of an extraordinary season of 72 goals and counting, a tally only bettered once by Lionel Messi. If Messi is one of football’s gods, Kane is the greatest man to do so. Win the World Cup on Sunday and he will surely end the year on the stage in Paris, wearing a shiny suit and clutching the golden orb.
But increasingly the tournament looks like Jude Bellingham’s World Cup.
It was his goal against Croatia that sparked England’s best-ever 45 minutes, his goal against Panama that broke the deadlock, and his blistering brace that briefly silenced Azteca, a feat in itself. Bellingham’s first goal in the quarter-final against Norway was a moment of elite technical skill amid a barrage of ineptitude, his second display of sublime instincts to give England a victory they hardly deserved.
And perhaps the tournament means even more to Bellingham, a player publicly questioned and privately doubted by his manager, who, unlike his peers, has been subject to outside scrutiny. One headline from The Daily Mail earlier this season shouted, “Don’t bring Jude,” suggesting that England would be better off without the “divisive lonesome” at the World Cup.
“It’s good to put some noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to helping us win football matches,” Bellingham said after scoring in the 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas.
It may seem strange now, but one of Thomas Tuchel’s decisions before that opener – and throughout his 18-month reign – was whether Bellingham or Morgan Rodgers should be his number 10 at the World Cup. Bellingham missed last September’s qualifiers after undergoing shoulder surgery and unfortunately his time was up. England put in their best performance under Tuchel with a 5-0 win over Serbia, with Rodgers in the lead.
Despite his return to fitness at Real Madrid, Tuchel ruled Bellingham out of the following camp. There was also the infamous line about Bellingham’s on-field behaviour, which Tuchel attributed to his mother and a slip of the tongue in his second language, and for which he later apologised.
Tuchel felt that England developed a “brotherhood” during these September and October camps. Can a powerful figure like Bellingham move into this layer easily?
Even when Bellingham made the World Cup squad, there was no guarantee he would start against Croatia. Tuchel was asked before kickoff why Bellingham was on Rodgers. “It was really close,” the manager said. Was he selected because of his hunger for the big game or his knack for scoring when it matters? “No,” Tuchel said. “A 50-50 call,” he called it, as if Bellingham had just beaten Rodgers in a game of rock-paper-scissors in the dressing room.
There was a fleet of other number 10s that Tuchel could choose from. Eberechi Eze has only played cameos. Phil Foden and Cole Palmer are watching on TV. But then really, what good is Bellingham’s unique set of options if you don’t use them? At the age of 22, Bellingham is in his fourth major tournament, having been bought by Real Madrid for €103m at 19 and winning the Champions League at 20. Steven Gerrard played his fourth game at the age of 30.
And in the last few weeks, Bellingham has shown why he is not just another piece of the England puzzle, but the keystone of the whole edifice of this World Cup campaign.
The goals are, obviously, to help and to bend tight play to his liking. But with Bellingham, it’s the other bits too, the intangibles, like his sheer presence in the England team and what it brings. Already at his age, Bellingham has an aura that instills confidence in his teammates, making opponents feel a little smaller as they stand in the tunnel.
Perhaps part of it is the great aesthetics, including straight posture, square shoulders, and a height of 6 feet. The cheekbones, the smile, the twinkle in her eyes, all of which make her look so good. We shouldn’t object to the players in this task, but come on. Norway’s defence collapsed at the knees and now England leads 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
He then only had three tackles in the second half against Croatia. They are not just fingers on the ball but complete slides through the opposition, comprehensive clean-outs that take the man with them. It’s the kind of tackle that gets England fans on their feet, drawing low-octave hums of “Juuuuuude”, a tackle that sends his teammates forward and changes the momentum.
If you examine FIFA’s giant suite of World Cup statistics, you’ll find Bellingham tops in two categories. The first is the sprint – no one else in the competition has made more than his 328, or 55 per game. That’s a sprint every 110 seconds in six games, one played not far from the heights of Mount Olympus and the other played in heat and humidity that even Amazon tribesmen would describe as stifling.
The second is what FIFA calls “offers to receive in the middle”; these are moments when Bellingham is positioned in a difficult position, where opponents are hiding and where defenders are close and demand possession of the ball. If his sprints show effort under pressure and tension, the latter shows courage and absolute belief in his ability to take possession under pressure again and again.
Bellingham is also among the best in a number of other measures.
But perhaps as telling as that, Bellingham is near the top on a whole raft of other measures. Distance covered, pressure, turnovers, goals, off-the-ball runs, chances created, headers attempted. His work is best shown in the box, but Bellingham is a complete midfielder who affects every aspect of every game, England’s all-round force. It’s not as if he’s a “loner.” It’s just that sometimes it takes a virtuoso to elevate the piece.
This is why comparisons with Steven Gerrard are justified, another player who can thrive in any position on the pitch. Yet Gerrard has consistently fallen short of that level for England, especially in the World Cup. Neither Lampard, nor Wayne Rooney, nor David Beckham, nor Michael Owen. Bellingham’s individual performances surpass those of Paul Gascoigne in Italia ’90 and Gary Lineker in Mexico ’86. It is perhaps the best by an England player in a World Cup since 1966.
There are glimpses of his potentially fiery personality in moments when he admonishes the referee or chides teammates for not reading his mind. His mother repeatedly reminded him not to get a yellow card in the days leading up to the match against Norway, to avoid suspension.
Tuchel’s teasing in post-match interviews perhaps revealed Bellingham’s frustration in his fight for his place, using his undoubted position of strength to express his feelings. But that edge has been turned into a performance full of determination and purpose, with an energy that has set the tone for England. Tuchel can take some credit for that too, providing a bit of encouragement and motivation.
Perhaps a career path outside the eyes of the Premier League hinders Bellingham’s appreciation in England. His uniqueness probably complicates things. His youth coach at Birmingham City famously wondered how he could play three midfield roles at once – numbers 4, 8 and 10 – so he combined them together and assigned him number 22.
But his potential cannot be overlooked this summer. Bellymonium is in full swing. Shortly after the Norway game, thousands of English fans chanted “Hey Jude” with emotion as he stood down on the grass, alone, drenched in sweat, letting the adulation wash over him. What an extraordinary experience that must be. And for the first time in this World Cup, Bellingham looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself.
