Bellingham’s gesture towards England crowd speaks volumes as a hero is made
Watching Jude Bellingham in an England shirt at Wembley on Tuesday night it felt like something had changed.
This was no longer a boy wonder just living out a dream playing for England but of an England team being bent to his will of a singular talent.
Bellingham’s summer move to Real Madrid and his stellar start in the Spanish capital has taken him onto another level with England. Harry Kane is still the captain, yes, and the giver of goals and there are other more senior players around him – all of them in terms of age in fact – but there is a sense that it is becoming his team already.
Which, at 20, is truly extraordinary.
“Since he came into the camp before the last Euros you could see how good he was then. Even when he was at Birmingham and when he started training with us it was like he was 30 years old. But now he’s playing for Madrid he knows how good he is himself,” said midfield partner Declan Rice.
“He is playing with that confidence and belief. Performances speak for themselves and I think you can see what he’s doing for Madrid and England – it’s incredible.
“We know how good he is. He’s on his way to big things.”
Bellingham has scored 11 goals and made five in 13 games for club and country this season.
It was his surging runs at Wembley, which won a penalty for Kane and set up Marcus Rashford’s goal, broke Italy.
But inside the stadium it wasn’t simply his skill and strength which grabbed the attention. It was the sheer force of his personality too.
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Cajoling his teammates, getting in the ear of the referee, whipping up the England support – Bellingham was relentless.
He was asked after receiving the man of the match award on the pitch afterwards if he had enjoyed the game. He turned the question on its head.
“Did you enjoy it?’’ he asked a crowd who were eating out of his hand by this stage.
This is a 20-year-old remember.
It was reflective of a character who is grabbing hold of this England side by the lapels and bellowing in its face.
“The way he plays, how he takes the ball and how he presses, how he gets after players, how he talks in the dressing room afterwards…I would say he is one of the leaders,” said Rice.
“When things don’t go right he says it. That is the biggest compliment – he is young but he says it how it is and is there to better himself and better everyone.”
In some players such a cocksure outlook in one so young would risk resentment amongst his elders. Bellingham will still only be 20 when the Euros finals kick off in Germany next summer.
But when you can walk the walk like Bellingham it buys you the right to talk the talk.
Besides, there is another disarming side to the Brummie off the pitch which balances the books. Walking out of Wembley at the end of a special night, he wore the ear-to-ear grin the England players are used to seeing behind the scenes.
“He’s one of the jokers of the team. He’s hilarious. He’s a top lad – the type of person I like to be around,” said Rice.
“He gets on with everyone. The lads love him – he’s such a bright bubbly character.”
He is a rare gem and the joy for England is that he is their gem, one who – if he carries on like this – could help them take the final step next summer.
“We’re very lucky to have him,” acknowledged manager Gareth Southgate.
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