You would be forgiven for thinking that the volume of coverage Jude Bellingham has received lately is bordering on footballing propaganda.
He is everywhere. If it is not his latest Hey Jude-soundtracked Adidas advert, it is a scantily-clad photoshoot for underwear brand SKIMS that is seeing brand Bellingham grow at an exponential rate.
You might expect that England have learned not to place the hopes of a nation on one young footballer’s shoulders by now, but Adidas’ advert suggests we are relying on Bellingham, tagged as it is with a slogan of “You Got This”.
Undue pressure? Not for Bellingham. You suspect his rebuttal would be that pressure is reserved for tyres, such is the confidence he exudes as he put in a man-of-the-match performance in England’s 1-0 win in their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia last night (Sunday).
He is making it impossible to keep him out of the discussion every time he takes to the field. At 20 years and 353 days old, Bellingham became the youngest player to have made an appearance in two European Championships, as he defied his age once again in Gelsenkirchen.
Typically, it is centre-backs or defensive midfielders who log the most touches in any game, but here it was Bellingham (who was substituted after 86 minutes) with 92.
On the pitch as well as off it, he is everywhere.
Within 30 seconds of the match kicking off, it was clear that Bellingham had the license to drop into deep areas to collect — sorry, command — possession as he received the ball from Declan Rice in England’s build-up play.
Seconds later, he was on the edge of Serbia’s penalty area, releasing the ball before making a run into the box straight out of the “Bellingham 2023-24” playbook. Here, he does not receive the cross from Bukayo Saka as he waves for the ball, but this should have been an early warning sign of what was to come.
After 12 minutes, we saw a combination of these two early actions for the most archetypal Jude Bellingham goal of the 2023-24 season. Once again, he drops in to receive the ball deep in build-up before releasing wide and making a beeline for the penalty area.
In truth, Serbia should hardly have been surprised to see this action with seemingly no player tracking his run, but Bellingham drifts into the box to meet Saka’s cross, without breaking stride, for a first-time headed finish.
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That goal meant Bellingham joined fellow Englishman Michael Owen as the only two Europeans to score at both the European Championship and World Cup for their senior national team before turning 21.
A more pertinent comparison of Bellingham’s performance is England striker Wayne Rooney’s fearless impact on Euro 2004. Bellingham does not just think he might be the best player on the pitch, he knows he is one of the best players in the tournament. His body language suggests as much, as he demands the ball from team-mates and plays up to the crowd.
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In the opening 45 minutes yesterday, there were stepovers, backheels and flicks around the corner, with Bellingham frequently exchanging one-touch zipped passes with Phil Foden — completing 14 passes to him, more than any other team-mate — as though the pair were simply warming up in a St George’s Park training session.
The boss 🆚 @PhilFoden 🆚 @BellinghamJude
Always time for a game of two touch after a tough training session! pic.twitter.com/dD5IkVUnzV
— England (@England) November 16, 2020
An old-school compliment was handed to Bellingham as Serbia looked to get as tight to him as they could, fouling England’s No 10 on four occasions. Most 20-year-olds might need a bit of protection from their team-mates when things get a little bit spicy in those moments. Instead, Bellingham was streetwise in channelling his energy — barging into Serbia’s Filip Kostic as he looked to rouse the travelling England fans.
“Since I started playing at Birmingham (City), it’s something (being fouled) that I’ve had to get used to,” Bellingham told BBC Sport after the game. “Before, I probably hadn’t handled it the best, in terms of letting myself get involved in a fight, but today I felt calm and relaxed and I know my team-mates have my back.”
This was a 20-year-old having fun on the pitch, providing a highlights reel of his greatest attributes in a single game — from a pinged cross-field volley to his right-back…
… to a driving run out of defence with two Serbia players converging on him.
We also saw Bellingham dropping into a left-back position to receive the ball outside of Serbia’s defensive block before kick-starting another attacking sequence.
In case you needed yet another reminder, this is the youngest player England had on the pitch acting like a seasoned veteran.
Bellingham was central to everything coach Gareth Southgate’s side did well going forward, but he did not shirk his defensive responsibilities — with no England player making more than his three tackles in the game as he tracked back to help out.
As England’s performance faded in the second half, Bellingham’s impact was not quite as palpable, but when they did go forward, it was their No 10 who looked most likely to make something happen.
He was still making those intelligent straight-line runs into the box, as this chance just got away from him.
Plus, he still found time to bring out his trademark “chop” — a skill he developed on the academy pitches at boyhood club Birmingham — as he looked to create a yard of space on the edge of the penalty area to get a cross in.
He even had time to linger behind Predrag Rajkovic as he walked out with the ball in his hands — waiting for an opportunity to pounce should Serbia’s goalkeeper have rolled it on the floor.
“Jude Bellingham is made of amazing people” ✨
The midfielder pays tribute to those that help him flourish ❤️#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/v5NH84yvYz
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 16, 2024
Bellingham is a man who is clearly enjoying himself on the biggest stages of both club and international football with Real Madrid and England, and there is a bank of evidence to suggest that very little phases him on or off the pitch.
As he said himself after the game last night, the football is the easy part.
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(Photo: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
