Bellingham Targets England Superstar Status Again As World Cup Opener Looms

Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick against Slovakia at Euro 2024 was the moment that defined him as England’s talisman, a 94th-minute equaliser that sparked a 2-1 extra-time victory.

His three words to the crowd that night in Gelsenkirchen — “who else?” — felt like a coronation, a statement of singular brilliance that nobody in an England shirt could match.

Two years on, the World Cup has arrived and those words carry a different weight, with Bellingham forced to prove himself all over again under a coach who has no interest in reputations.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has made it abundantly clear that stardom counts for nothing in his setup, and Bellingham has felt that message more sharply than most.

The emergence of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers as a genuine rival for the number ten role behind captain Harry Kane has made Bellingham’s place the subject of intense debate, something utterly unimaginable after Euro 2024.

Bellingham has only made nine starts in England’s 20 games since the Euro 2024 final, his involvement disrupted by shoulder and hamstring injuries as well as deliberate omissions from the squad by Tuchel.

The relationship between player and coach hit a particularly difficult moment when Tuchel apologised after revealing his own mother sometimes found Bellingham’s on-field behaviour “repulsive” following the friendly defeat against Senegal last June.

Tuchel admitted he used the word “unintentionally,” but then left Bellingham out of the squad for friendlies against Wales and the World Cup qualifier in Latvia last October, despite the Real Madrid midfielder wanting to return after shoulder surgery.

Since arriving in the United States, however, Bellingham has looked transformed, and former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes the timing could be perfect.

Robinson, serving as BBC Radio Five Live’s analyst for England’s games, said: “From what we’ve seen out here and from what we’ve heard from the camp and his team-mates, stuff from behind the scenes, England are getting the Jude Bellingham of old back for the World Cup. He looks as fit and focused as he has for a long time.”

Robinson was unequivocal about Bellingham’s place in the starting eleven for Wednesday’s opener against Croatia in Dallas, insisting his big-game experience remains unrivalled in the squad.

“I’d pick him to start. 100%. Morgan Rogers doesn’t deserve to lose his place but Bellingham is a big-game player. He’s won the Champions League,” Robinson said.

Robinson was careful to add an important caveat though, saying: “England are a far better and stronger team with Bellingham in it, but he will know very clearly he is not irreplaceable. Harry Kane is irreplaceable, but Bellingham isn’t because there is Morgan Rogers.”

England team-mate Jordan Henderson, who first took Bellingham under his wing when he entered the squad in 2020, is in no doubt about what the 23-year-old brings to the group.

Henderson said: “He gives us something really special. An ‘X Factor’. He has had big moments. He is a big-game player. Jude is a huge, huge player for us. Anyone in the group will tell you how good he is as a team-mate.”

Bellingham himself has reflected on where England went wrong at Euro 2024, telling the Football Association’s Lions’ Den show: “I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons. Expectation was part of it.”

He added: “We were not playing particularly well so even when we were winning you didn’t get the feeling you were as happy as you should be,” a level of candour that suggests a player ready to make amends.

Robinson believes Tuchel’s tough approach may ultimately have served Bellingham well, with the coach’s relentless honesty forcing a naturally gifted player to rediscover his hunger.

“Tuchel has made big calls with him, and the relationship between Jude and the coach has been brought into question, but look at Bellingham’s experience. He has got 37 competitive caps. This counts for a lot in a major tournament,” Robinson said.

England’s World Cup campaign begins in Dallas on Wednesday, and Bellingham, now 48 caps into his international career, arrives smiling, sharp, and ready to ask that question again.

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