The Jude Bellingham Show
A World Cup body of work that, even by the Real Madrid midfielder’s lofty standards, has been as mesmerising as we’ve seen in an England shirt in recent major tournaments
It seems ludicrous now to think there was even a debate as to whether Bellingham would be in England’s World Cup team at all
Bellingham has emerged as one of the stars of England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals – and has arguably been one of the best players of the tournament
Six goals, including a brilliant double against Norway in the quarter-finals, plus an excellent assist for Harry Kane’s goal in the 2-0 win over Panama has had England’s supporters serenading the 23-year-old here in the USA
But Bellingham appears to be taking it all in his stride
Of course, he is used to the adulation. It is no surprise that Bellingham finds himself in the position he does today – his route to the top was predicted by those in the game when he burst on to the scene in 2019
Here, BBC Sport charts Bellingham’s rise
Bellingham stunned the scouts from his debut
Bellingham made his debut for hometown club Birmingham City aged 16 years and 38 days in August 2019
He became the Blues’ youngest ever player, breaking club legend Trevor Francis’ record set in 1970
A Premier League scouting report from that game suggests the midfielder’s talent was quickly apparent, acknowledging his “great athleticism, long legs, graceful running and work-rate”
But it was Bellingham’s technical skills that really caught the scout’s attention – his ability to carry the ball away from pressure and find space by getting between the lines or pulling wide
The report recommended the undisclosed Premier League club immediately sign Bellingham, loan him out, then bring him into their senior squad in 18 months’ time
Within a year, Bellingham was on the move – not to the Premier League, but to Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £20.7m
When he left, Birmingham retired Bellingham’s number 22 shirt, with the teenager having played just 44 times for the club
But Birmingham City knew
Everyone in English football was starting to realise
Germany very quickly found out, too
Bellingham scored on his debut for Dortmund, claiming the second goal in a 5-0 win over Duisburg in the German Cup
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Fast-track to senior international squad
It wasn’t long before Sir Gareth Southgate, then England manager, took notice
Bellingham, having played just 11 matches for Dortmund and still only 17, was fast-tracked into the senior national side, making his debut as a late substitute in a 3-0 win over Republic of Ireland in November 2020
The clamour for Bellingham to become a regular for Southgate gained decibels with every brilliant display in Germany’s domestic league
Yet Southgate restricted him to just three substitute appearances at the delayed Euro 2020, where England reached the final
On reflection, Southgate carefully managed Bellingham’s early steps into international football
And Southgate’s number two Steve Holland, according to well-placedsquad, particularly regarding the defensive aspects of his game
But by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Southgate and Holland could not hold Bellingham back any longer
Bellingham’s headed opener in the 6-2 win over Iran was his first at senior international level. There have been nine more goals since
The emergence of the Real Madrid Galactico
With Bellingham’s strong performances came a swagger – a trait that can divide opinion
At Euro 2024, Bellingham had been a Real Madrid player for almost a year – a Galactico who had scored 19 goals for his La Liga and Champions League-winning club
Every media outlet at the tournament wanted a piece of him
Bellingham was given leeway to skip tournament media duties, certainly with the English press, that other players had to undertake, all while filming his own multi-part documentary. It raised eyebrows
It also did not go unnoticed that immediately after the final whistle of England’s loss against Spain at the Euro 2024 final Bellingham isolated himself away from the rest of squad
Yet his impact on the pitch was undeniable
His overhead kick equaliser during the dying seconds of England’s last-16 win over Slovakia was one of the moments of the tournament
Bellingham’s now iconic ‘who else’ celebration showcased his oozing self-confidence – but provided another example of the ‘main character syndrome’ that Southgate and some of the players had begun to notice
The pre-tournament selection questions
Fast-forward to today and Real Madrid have not won La Liga or the Champions League since 2023. Amid the off-field turmoil at the club, Bellingham has not been able to match the form or prolific goalscoring of that glorious first season
He’s also had a few injuries, with shoulder surgery meaning he missed the start of the season
And clouds appeared around his England career
Thomas Tuchel, perhaps as a result of English being his second language, caused a media stir last summer when the new England head coach said his mother viewed some of Bellingham’s on-field behaviour as “a bit repulsive”
The comment created a lot of headlines – and did not go down well with those close to Bellingham
Tuchel later apologised, saying he “used the word unintentionally”
Then in October, after being named England’s player of the year, Bellingham was left out of Tuchel’s squad
England had played well without him in September while he was recovering from injury, and he had only played one game for Real since he returned to action
“He is a special player, and for special players there can always be special rules,” Tuchel said at the time
“But we decided to keep with the straightforward decision of inviting the same group
“Jude always deserves to be here. He wanted to be called up. We had a phone call.”
Reports in Spain offered an alternative scenario – that it was Bellingham who asked to be left out of the squad in order to focus on his fitness
Ultimately, it seemed like Bellingham was no longer first choice
Indeed, in June, Tuchel said the midfielder had a fight on his hands to feature in England’s starting line-up at the World Cup because he had “14 or 15 potential starters” in his squad
At that time, Bellingham had only appeared in half of the 14 matches since the German took over in January 2025: four starts and three appearances off the bench
The narrative was: ‘should it be Rogers or Bellingham to start at number 10?’
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Bellingham has matured in front of the world
But from the World Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica, things started to look different – with Bellingham impressing
In the first World Cup game against Croatia, Bellingham scored a fantastic solo goal to put England 3-2 ahead
Against Panama, when England were struggling for a breakthrough in the final group game, Bellingham scored the crucial goal to break the deadlock
While he was substituted in all three group games, Bellingham’s form was strong
Against DR Congo in the last 32, he played an influential full game
Two goals in an iconic victory in Mexico – heralded as one of England’s greatest away wins – cemented his resurgence
Bellingham scored two again in a 2-1 victory against Norway in a closely contested quarter-final in Miami to put England only one win away from their first men’s World Cup final since 1966
In six matches he has won four player of the match awards
These awards mean he has to do media interviews, where he has portrayed both maturity and humility, playing down his role and speaking up for the team’s work ethic and togetherness, while praising his opponents – even offering one of his player awards to the other team
After the ‘who else?’ celebration of 2024, this time he has said he’d rather assist than score
The change in tone tallies with his on-field performances. His work-rate is a driving force alongside his talent – remember his goal-saving challenge against Mexico
He has won praise for being adaptable, in particular in moving between a 10 and eight role at times, depending on the needs of the team, and he is a key part of the England leadership group with Kane and others
It is not known exactly what happened with Tuchel and Bellingham
Was it all overblown or was there some level of the German asserting his leadership over the whole squad – perhaps recognising and managing that main character syndrome?
Whatever the truth, Bellingham has looked happy, has played well and has been a key part of a squad that seems genuinely together
It is easy to forget, with all he has achieved, that Bellingham is only 23. He has had to mature in the brightest spotlight
Bellingham – and Kane – have been widely regarded as the indispensable superstars of the England team
And with a semi-final against either Switzerland or reigning champions Argentina on Wednesday, there could be more goals to cement his greatness
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