When it comes to England, Jude Bellingham always appears to be the first. The Three Lions’ first goal scorer, who also assisted Jordan Henderson on the first of their three goals against Senegal in Round of 16, was at it again. Bellingham set up his senior teammate for his first goal by charging forward and throwing the ball back as Henderson displayed hot feet to divert the ball into the net.
England will soon have its own Steven Gerrard in Jude Bellingham
The rest of England’s England will soon have its own Steven Gerrard in Jude Bellingham rare stress-free knockout game was characterised by the effortless, uncomplicated move of tandem. Bellingham’s original stroke of genius was also the source of England’s second goal, which was scored by captain Harry Kane. Deep in midfield is where that Bellingham spark of a pass originated.
With Liverpool wooing Bellingham actively to slot him in as sharp-edge of their midfield triangle and Henderson shepherding him from a step behind as one of two holding midfielders, the Henderson goal may have even heightened hopes at Anfield.
Bellingham, however, is a unique non-Premier League England player who, as a young youngster, slipped back into English football after spending time camping at Borussia Dortmund, where he competes in contrast to all of his teammates in Qatar.
In an interview with nightly news.com before the match against Senegal, former midfielder Paul Ince compared the 19-year-old to Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard, and even Roy Keane. Mike Dodds, his coach at the Birmingham academy, thought he was an all-arounder and all-doer, therefore he gave him the jersey number 22.
In the recent World Cup, Bellingham, who played after Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney, became England’s second-youngest player to ever score. Bellingham became the most expensive 17-year-old player in football history when Dortmund acquired him from Birmingham in June 2020 for £25 million. When Bellingham received the skipper’s armband for the league match between the Black & Yellows and Cologne at the age of 19 years and 98 days earlier, he became the club’s youngest captain in history.