IT’S Jude Bellingham’s world, we just live in it.
The Borussia Dortmund teenager put in a superb and accomplished display against Iran on Monday afternoon, completing 97% of his passes, many of which were progressive, while dictating proceedings all over the park. This was a statement of talent and intent that is rarely witnessed.
Still, it was the kind of performance, from one so young and on football’s biggest stage, that can lead to burdensome hype so let’s keep analysis of his World Cup debut to two points, the first of which is obvious, but pertinent, the second of which extends beyond the 19-year-old.
After just ten starts for England, Bellingham has made himself indispensable to Gareth Southgate’s model for success. And such is the player’s broad attributes, we may now see a very different England to the rigid, unadventurous incarnation that reached a Euro final last year.
Much has been made of the manager’s decision to set up with a 4-3-3 in Al Rayyan, and it was a more fluid shape wholly made possible by Bellingham’s intelligent box-to-boxing, that at times saw him drop deeper than Declan Rice and recycle possession to Shaw and Tripper, at other times forage forward, offering a valuable extra body in the final third.
In terms of his duel functionality and the benefits that affords, it was reminiscent of the work done by Bernardo Silva for Pep Guardiola. Because here was essentially two players rolled into one, and this facilitates a system that would otherwise see Rodri/Rice isolated.
And boy were the benefits substantial, as evidenced by the breadth of England’s attacking threat that saw them rack up six in a World Cup group game for a second consecutive tournament.
In his 18 previous international outings going into the game, Harry Kane had scored 40.4% of England’s goals but against Iran the onus was shared around, with five others getting on the scoresheet instead. This meant that the Three Lions no longer required a focal point, a definitive end product that can make any side predictable. This meant the Iran defence didn’t know who to fear, who to prioritise, and crucially when to go and when to stay.
It was this uncertainty that made Iran appear hapless on occasion, and this uncertainty that afforded precious space for Saka and co to exploit. In summary, England were multifarious in attack whereas in times past they’ve been regimented, and this immensely positive trait can directly be attributed to a teenager who had the nous to orchestrate the patterns of play around him.
It cannot be under-stated either how advantageous such fluidity can be because typically World Cups are not won by relying on a Golden Boot winner, as Kane was in 2018. Only four of the 21 past winners of this competition had an outright leading goal-scorer in their ranks.
As so we come to USA this Friday and the big, big question. Will Southgate keep faith with this winning formula or revert to type, his cautious nature favouring three at the back and a more dependable solidity? If he does, England should still be backed to prevail because in the simplest terms, their superior players should see to that. But amidst the carefully strategized, low-scoring victory something fundamentally exhilarating will be lost. A chance to be amazing.
It should be said that the American midfield is infinitely better than Iran’s so that will definitely necessitate greater protection. Their impressive trio of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams ran the show against Wales, for the first 45 minutes at least, and of these it is their team captain and Leeds star Adam who often stands out. This year for his country, he has averaged four tackles per game and won 5.77 duels. Combative but fair, his match-up with Bellingham entices.
Elsewhere, Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah were both impactful on the flanks in their opener but in truth that is not always the case, the former straying into anonymity far too often for a player proclaimed to be a superstar. Behind them meanwhile, Sergino Dest and Fulham’s Antonee Robinson each gave a masterclass in full-backing, and with Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier also on top of their games at present, perhaps it’s this aspect that might determine Friday’s showdown. Whoever pins the other back gains their side an enormous advantage.
The defensive partnership of Zimmerman and Ream is also worth acknowledging, with USMNT conceding only seven in their last 10 games, and if this suggests England may struggle to break their opponents down, don’t rule out it being a laborious exercise. Remarkably, the Three Lions haven’t scored within the opening half-an-hour for over a year now. Nine of their last 15 have come in the second period of contests.
Alternatively, of course, England’s thrilling new brand of attacking football may be allowed to continue and flourish into a second game, and if that’s what transpires then who knows where that ultimately takes them, and what glories are to come.
Because right now, this is Jude Bellingham’s world, and the possibilities are endless.
STE’S BET BUILDER
Combining all of Ste’s tips returns 29/1*. Fancy it? Click image to add directly to your betslip!
*Odds subject to fluctuation. See website for details.
