Jude Bellingham had almost reached the mouth of the MetLife’s tunnel, a gateway to the sanctity of England’s dressing room, when a FIFA suit beckoned him back – waving his arms a little bit frantically.
The world’s TV stations wanted Bellingham to speak and he would oblige – but only after realising that they stood waiting more than 100 yards away.
Given a rest by Thomas Tuchel for the final 19 minutes of victory over Panama, Bellingham appeared sprightly when hunting down the microphones, jogging briskly to the stadium’s north west end, lapping up applause from supporters and waving like royalty as he went. An FA staffer strode behind but never attempted to keep up. Very few can.
For Bellingham, yet another box-to-box run. There had been plenty of those for someone who Tuchel dropped that bit deeper in the absence of Declan Rice and told to shift thinking away from solely attacking. Asked to operate alongside Elliot Anderson, just as he had for a few minutes on opening night against Croatia, Bellingham looked settled, at home.
He drove England on, this role seemingly the best use of his exceptional characteristics. The best of both worlds, a man with that hunger for goals while maintaining a bite going in the other direction. And it is to Tuchel’s credit that he has felt emboldened to ask this of a midfielder who has tended to prefer a spot up with Harry Kane as a second striker. Although always a standout, the scorer of crucial goals and creator of special moments, seeing him loiter in the final third does leave you wondering what percentage of Bellingham brilliance is being left behind.
Thomas Tuchel was one of many who were appreciative of Jude Bellingham’s performance
Bellingham celebrates after scoring England’s first goal against Panama on Saturday
Because to watch him contribute defensively, doing that all-action central midfield work – at the heart of everything – was to recognise someone who can and will run games themselves. Tuchel described the switch in position as operating as a No 10 in possession and a No 8 without it. You can dress it up any which way you like, it was Bellingham in the middle of everything. With his physical attributes, this can feel like having an extra man in the key areas. That edge too, pulling off his finest Temur Ketsbaia impression by cannoning an advertising hoarding when only winning a corner after discombobulating Panama’s back five.
Aside from notching the first from Bukayo Saka’s corner and setting up Kane’s second – the assist coming after breaking the lines and getting in behind – there was a steady stream of notable pieces of play that acted as reminders of a capability of doing it all effortlessly.
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.
