Jude Bellingham was almost at the entrance to the MetLife Stadium tunnel, heading toward the relative calm of England’s dressing room, when a FIFA official urgently called him back, gesturing with increasing insistence.
Broadcasters from around the world were waiting to hear from Bellingham, and he was happy to oblige — once he realised the interview area was still more than 100 yards away.
Having been withdrawn by Thomas Tuchel for the final 19 minutes of England’s win over Panama, Bellingham still looked full of energy as he set off toward the microphones. He jogged smartly to the north-west corner of the stadium, soaking up cheers from the crowd and acknowledging supporters with a regal wave. An FA staff member followed in his wake, though there was little point trying to match his pace. Few people can.
Bellingham was the force that pushed England forward, and this role appears to make ideal use of his rare blend of qualities. It offers the best of both worlds: a midfielder with a striker’s instinct for goal, but also the bite and drive to influence play in reverse. Tuchel deserves credit for asking that of a player who has often looked more comfortable operating close to Harry Kane as a second forward. Even when Bellingham excels there, delivering decisive goals and standout moments, his presence high up the pitch can leave the sense that some of his wider brilliance is being underused.
Thomas Tuchel was among those impressed by Jude Bellingham’s influential display
Bellingham celebrates after putting England ahead against Panama on Saturday
Watching him contribute defensively, taking on the demanding all-action responsibilities of central midfield and placing himself at the centre of nearly every passage, was a reminder that he is capable of controlling matches on his own. Tuchel framed the adjustment as Bellingham playing as a No 10 when England had the ball and a No 8 when they did not. However it is labelled, he was everywhere that mattered. With his athleticism, England can seem to have an extra body in the most important areas. There was an edge to him as well, underlined when he thumped an advertising board in frustration despite winning a corner after unsettling Panama’s back five.
Beyond scoring the opener from Bukayo Saka’s corner and creating Kane’s second with a run that broke the lines and took him in behind, Bellingham produced a constant flow of eye-catching contributions that reinforced just how naturally he can do almost everything.
Box crashing from a Marcus Rashford cross. Tracking back in disciplined fashion, doing his finest work when breaking up play – twice thwarting Panama counters with huge tackles and effectively bailing others out. Whether it was being constantly fouled or nicking in during 50-50s, Bellingham was everywhere, pointing exactly where he wanted through balls or piercing the defence when putting Kane clear.
As an all-round performance, there are not many of Bellingham’s 51 other caps that top Saturday evening in New Jersey.
Yes, Panama.
But yes, he can do it against the elite too.
‘For me there is a responsibility to get the team going to another level, another level of intensity more than anything,’ said Bellingham, the pacemaker.
England must harness all of that a bit more and Tuchel surely will have noticed the increased output, wondering if there may well be difficult conversations to have across the coming days over who might miss out or how the formation could be tweaked to accommodate their Galactico.
In truth, Bellingham should have been told years ago that this was his position at international level. Carlo Ancelotti deployed him deeper for Real Madrid, the 22-year-old excelling there, and now a similarly charismatic head coach is doing the same. Had this decision been made earlier then the midfield might be a finely tuned trio rather than working through fresh ideas at a major tournament.
What this option brings is plonking England’s best player into the largest area of the pitch and can only be seen as a positive – especially as he prefers coming on to the ball rather than receiving it with back to goal. With little niggles here and there for Anderson and Rice, this can be deployed to maximum effect once the knockout stage starts as the England roadshow heads for Atlanta to face DR Congo on Wednesday afternoon.
Rice might be looking over his shoulder a touch. He had not grabbed either of the two opening matches in Group L and the way Bellingham dovetailed with Anderson was certainly visible. Not perfect but offering more gumption. The three of them could line up in a different three, more of an inside-out umbrella, and the knock-on effect on Kane would be fascinating. There are definitely different ways of using these players.
Bellingham worked more defensively in a deeper position for England against Panama
Tuchel spoke to requiring the sort of guts and force at Bellingham’s disposal in the build-up to Panama, as accusations flew around a failure to break down stubborn defences.
‘Who is arriving with the cross?’ he theorised. ‘Are we arriving aggressively enough with the cross? How can we shoot more from outside the box, have a deflection and force this goal in? That is basically the learning (after Ghana).’
Bellingham is the guy for this. He manufactures flashes that change games. Aside from a goal and assist, he created more chances than anybody (four) and passes into the final third (six). Seventy-five per cent of his four long balls were accurate, pointing to a player who switches play intelligently and with pace, while his 11 won duels were more than anybody from either side too.
His was England’s performance of the World Cup so far. He is the one who will take games to the very best if given the space.
