Jude Bellingham barely had time to timidly take his place in the England dressing room. He has never been a slow burner anywhere he has been. His arrival usually results in the sort of impact reserved for players a decade his senior.

Whether that is with hometown club Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid or the There Lions, Bellingham has always made an incredible entrance. Having just turned 23, he already has a trophy haul many veterans would envy, but more than just winning titles, he has been decisive in the hunt, too.

Just before his birthday, when England played Croatia on June 17, Bellingham became Europe’s youngest ever player to play at four major tournaments at 22 years and 353 days old. By the time he was lining up in the game, he was no longer just an exciting prospect, but the main man his country were hanging their hopes on to end 60 years of hurt waiting for a second World Cup.

Almost a month on, and he has delivered even more than anyone expected. With six goals, alongside Harry Kane, he is making his mark when it matters most. Having scored back-to-back braces in the last 16 against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, one of the most intimidating atmospheres in world football and Norway on Saturday, he became the first player since Diego Maradona in 1986 to achieve that feat.

This is the company he is keeping now, and none of it is undeserved. It is not hyperbolic to say that he could well be on course to become England’s greatest ever player by the time he retires; it may be hard to argue with already if he can guide them to just two more victories next week.

With such a high profile and big game mentality, there is a loud, brash, confidence about him. That hasn’t always gelled with Thomas Tuchel’s strict demands, and less than a year ago, it was far from guaranteed that he would be a key man at this World Cup. There was even some debate as to whether he should be in the squad at all.

Tuchel has taken a lot of stick for his selection, particularly with the number of big names left at home. Even with England preparing for just a third World Cup semi-final in 36 years, that discourse hasn’t stopped, with Noni Madueke’s poor form and Bukayo Saka’s fitness putting the absent Cole Palmer to the forefront of many minds.

But had Tuchel dared to not put Bellingham front and centre this summer, let alone not selected him at all, he may have had a hefty price to pay.

After the Norway game, Tuchel was critical of the team’s performance. Bellingham responded and publicly disagreed; to some it would disrespectful, but it showed the conviction and belief he had in his team-mates. He is already a leader.

“Maybe he [Tuchel] doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sorloth,” added Bellingham, who is averaging a goal a game at this World Cup after his double took his tally to six.

“They’re not an easy team to play against. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads.

“You can’t win every game popping the ball and making 1,000 passes, sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that today.”

Gareth Southgate did great things for England in terms of laying the foundations, with player development and tournament psychology. But his era was undercut by a desire to appear together; perhaps this Tuchel and Bellingham ‘disagreement’ shows the fire and mentality needed to go all the way.

There is an argument that France, Spain and Wednesday’s opponents Argentina are bigger favourites for different reasons. But with Bellingham shaping up like this, England cannot be counted out.

The post Bellingham proves he could be England’s greatest appeared first on Colossus Blog.

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