Jude Bellingham chose the perfect moment for his first England goal as he did what he does best – rising to the challenge in a typically fearless fashion.
- Bellingham’s opening goal makes him the country’s second-youngest World Cup scorer
- His first England goal comes on the first tournament start
- England’s 30th win in 70 World Cup finals matches
“He can go as far as he wants to.” Kieran Trippier’s assertion about Jude Bellingham, made to FIFA+ in the aftermath of England’s dismantling of IR Iran, is unlikely to draw many if any, dissenting voices. After all, this is a teenager for whom the deep end seems to resemble a paddling pool – somewhere to splash about in and enjoy himself. Nerves? Apparently not for a player who captained Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League at 19 and who, on Monday, became the second-youngest England goalscorer at the World Cup with the header that broke the deadlock. Only Michael Owen, 18 at France 98, was younger than Bellingham, 19 years and 145 days old today. Not a bad way to get off the mark for your country.
He is the first player born after 2000 to score at the World Cup. Yet his maturity is exceptional. After his first UEFA Champions League match with the armband – in Seville, where he scored (one of four in that competition’s group stage) – he amazed a couple of TV reporters by introducing himself and shaking their hands after his post-match interviews. Last week in a column in The Times, former England midfielder Adam Lallana described how Jordan Henderson returned to Liverpool from one England camp and told him “Wait until you see this kid”. Lallana added that “his reaction was based on Jude’s attitude and application in training, his willingness to listen”.
It was not just Bellingham’s goal that caught the eye as England achieved their second-biggest World Cup win, and 30th in 70 matches in the competition’s history. According to Opta, all of his 40 passes in the first half found an England shirt, 10 of them in the final third. It was easy to forget that for a player limited to three outings off the bench at UEFA EURO 2020 this was his first tournament start. Besides his passing there was the timing of his runs into his box, in search of a goal. On top of his header, he was also involved in the third goal for Raheem Sterling, spreading the ball out wide to Harry Kane then haring into the box himself. Had Sterling not connected, Bellingham was there waiting at the far post. Near the end of the first half, it took a trio of Iran players to smother another Bellingham advance.
The youngster’s impact against Iran augurs so well for an England side who drew a big, bold line under their six-match winless run. The attacking purpose he brings alongside Declan Rice in the 433 formation chosen by Southgate could potentially bring another dimension to a team already benefitting from the apparent fearlessness of the two-goal Bukayo Saka (just 21 himself).
As Rice told FIFA+: “I just said to him [Bellingham] before the game, ‘go and do your thing, go and express yourself, go and attack and I’ll be behind you to sweep up’ and we did that as a pair tonight.” Full-back Trippier, one of the squad’s older guard, was equally impressed: “He is a top, top quality player, so experienced at such a young age,” he said. “These are the sort of tournaments for letting everybody know how good you are but most importantly to enjoy. That’s what we try to say to him.” It looks like this fast learner has been listening once again.
