Frida Fagerlund
This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer’s.
MEXICO CITY. Jude Bellingham stands where he has stood so many times this summer: in the spotlight.
Bigger, stronger and more mature.
Six months ago there were those who did not want to see him here.
While the Mexican supporters move disappointedly into the night, we journalists stand in a cluster in front of a podium in Azteca’s catacombs.
It is anyone’s guess who one of the three players England (reluctantly) must send forward might be. The same guy who has already stood at the microphone a handful of times in recent weeks – a new personal record in the context of the national team.
Jude Bellingham seems to have finally found his place.
Just over two years ago, we were all together (it’s pretty much the same group that covers England this championship as well) in a press conference room in Gelsenkirchen. Then to see Bellingham settle on the podium, after nodding in a life-saving goal against Slovakia, was about as unusual as hearing Lionel Messi speak.
Lack of details
The 21-year-old talent had actively avoided interviews, something that, for example, Wayne Rooney questioned: “Why doesn’t Jude go in the open?”
But it was still possible to figure out that Bellingham had a primary role in the 2024 European Championship squad.
At the start of the Championship I asked Gareth Southgate how much he listened to the players’ thoughts and ideas. The league captain revealed that there was a players’ council and that Bellingham had recently been elected despite his young age.
That news graced pretty much every tabloid the following day, as it was a rare detail that offered any sort of insight into Jude Bellingham’s day-to-day life with England.
Other reports claimed that some teammates resented Bellingham’s egocentric side. The one who likes to cup his hand over his ear when he scores a goal or fronts advertising campaigns that give the impression that he is the team’s only star.
Now safe in his own skin
It goes without saying that a lot can happen in two years, especially for a guy in his early 20s.
During Euro 2024, Jude Bellingham saw enemies around every corner, something that became clear when he made his few media appearances. It was a lot about “silencing the critics” and “showing everyone”. In a text a bit into the championship, I wrote:
“No one doubts that Jude Bellingham has the strength to rise when (it feels like) the whole world is against him. But constantly chasing ghosts can also be draining, especially if they’re imaginary. At least 56 million people are in Bellingham’s circle — he just has to face it.”
The man who now stands straight back and talks to the journalists does so with a new kind of humility. He has no problem switching between English and Spanish (although after three straight questions from the Mexican media he politely asks for “ingles ahora, por favor…”)
A relaxed smile often plays on the lips, which is certainly expected after a great performance.
Jude Bellingham is so obviously comfortable in his own skin, fully aware that he has been England’s best player so far alongside Harry Kane.
“LEAVE THE JEWS AT HOME”
In the shadows behind us in the front row is a reporter from the Daily Mail who is really sweating right now.
First of all, it must be said that this job involves having opinions. And in the long run to sometimes be really wrong. For example, I firmly argued that it was difficult to see England winning World Cup gold after the Round of 16 against Congo-Kinshasa due to structural defensive concerns (a claim I’m more than happy to eat, though).
But around seven months ago, a column was published in the Daily Mail with a headline that, with hindsight, is extra troublesome to have your name under:
LEAVE JUDE AT HOME.
Ever since Thomas Tuchel became the national team captain, everyone could see that he intended to go a different way than Southgate. Now it would surely be less about the big names – less about Bellingham, Palmer and Foden – and all the more about England as a collective.
Good thing Tuchel didn’t listen
Tuchel has been tight-lipped about what he has thought of Bellingham’s attitude on the pitch. Until a couple of months ago, many believed that the German would let Morgan Rogers, oddly enough childhood friend of Bellingham, take a place in the starting eleven.
Here, the national team captain should have credit for two things. Partly because he is a man who is open to changing tracks. But also because he has managed to do something that Southgate failed to do: to give Jude Bellinghams the perfect role.
Bellingham is not a ten, not quite an eight, but something in between. When he joined the pre-season camp in Miami, he was so hungry in training, so determined in everything he did, that Tuchel realized what a huge opportunity this was for England.
What would have happened if Tuchel had listened to the reporter who didn’t want to see Jude Bellingham in the World Cup? If he had realized that Bellingham is bad for team spirit?
There is reason to believe that the national team would not have remained on American soil at the time – that the chance for an unforgettable summer was already gone.
