In America’s Midwest, on the fields of Swope Soccer Village in Kansas, the evolution of Jude Bellingham’s standing within the England team continues.
The Real Madrid star is just one game into this World Cup but already has a place in the team, a goal and an endorsement from his manager. None of this was guaranteed just a few weeks ago.
Bellingham is the star whom Thomas Tuchel felt necessary to bring down to earth and the back story is known. Repulsion – an extension of Tuchel’s own word – led to exclusion last October and the manner of the response was always going to dictate how the story played out in the long term.
Suffice to say Bellingham has thus far found his own way through the maze. With the help of some counsel from those he trusts in football and, more importantly, an apparent readjustment in outlook, Bellingham found himself standing in front of England’s fans after victory over Croatia in Dallas last Wednesday with the PA system in tune with the mood. ‘Hey Jude,’ it played.
It has not been an easy journey and ahead of the 22-year-old winning his 50th cap in Boston against Ghana on Tuesday, it is not over.
Tuchel is obsessive about the way his players behave and interact. His assistant Anthony Barry calls it ‘psychological profiling’. Suffice to say, they are always watching.
Jude Bellingham’s role in England’s squad is a world away from where it was months into Thomas Tuchel’s tenure
After scoring the third goal against Croatia, Bellingham has all but nailed down his place in the starting line-up
Some members of Tuchel’s squad who were present when Bellingham’s demeanour unsettled them during Euro 2024 in Germany have not forgotten. Some wariness remains from one or two and there will be some high-pressure moments ahead if England are to do well here. How will Bellingham react?
But there isn’t much that Tuchel says or does that isn’t for a reason and his assessment this week was telling.
‘You can rely on Jude in these moments,’ he said. ‘He loves these pressure games. That brings out the best in him. But also in the last 16 or 17 days, he has bought into the idea of team spirit, into the idea of brotherhood. He did his best to be a top team player for us.’
A year ago Tuchel would not have said these things. Of course the England manager regretted using the word ‘repulsive’ after seeing Bellingham’s part in a friendly defeat by Senegal at the City Ground in Nottingham 12 months ago. He was tired after not sleeping following the defeat and he was not speaking in his first language.
Equally, his reservations about Bellingham were no media invention. They were very real. Not just about his outlook and conduct as a team-mate and camp mate but also in terms of his positional discipline on the field.
Tuchel craves order on a football pitch as much as can ever be possible and Bellingham, with his tendency to follow the ball, did not bring him that.
Greater challenges sit before England in this long American summer and deeper questions will be asked of them than those posed by a skittish Croatia team last week. But Tuchel’s decision to hand Bellingham the armband for the second half of a friendly against New Zealand in Tampa earlier this month was no coincidence, even if he sought to play it down. It was a mark of progress being marked in the sand.
Subsequently, Tuchel and his staff have been buoyed by the sight of Bellingham leading from the front in all the right ways as England stepped through the gears to win the game in the second half in Dallas.
Tuchel previously referred to Bellingham’s behaviour as ‘repulsive’ and has tested him over whether he can contribute to a strong squad atmosphere
Tuchel’s decision to hand Bellingham the armband for the second half of a friendly against New Zealand in Tampa earlier this month was no coincidence, even if he sought to play it down
‘I feel like Jude’s one of those players where you can really feel when he’s on it,’ said defender Dan Burn. ‘He sort of sets the tone sometimes. If he goes flying into a tackle with three minutes gone, it really gives you that energy. You have to raise your own level. He’s got that about him. So to see him start the tournament well was great.’
This is the thing about great players and those with profile. Whether they like it or not, they influence those around them – for good or for bad.
It has taken time for Bellingham to fully understand that and to use it as a force for good. But at the England base in Kansas, the subtle changes in Bellingham have been noted. The sound of pennies dropping, maybe.
Bellingham has never been wholly unpopular. But in Germany during the last Euros two summers ago, where he also wrote his name through an opening victory with the winning goal, he intimidated some members of Gareth Southgate’s squad and simply irritated one or two others. He has spoken himself recently of an atmosphere among Southgate’s group that wasn’t as it needed to be.
Here, with his ally Jordan Henderson included in the squad, this is not being talked about. His bond with his rival for the No 10 position Morgan Rogers remains while he also has developed a friendship with former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah.
Indeed, earlier this year another England talent – midfielder Elliot Anderson – revealed that the impact Bellingham had left on him with England had been positive.
‘Jude Bellingham is someone I have looked up to over the past few years and all of a sudden I was sharing a pitch with him,’ said Anderson. ‘Yeah, he is a superstar. He’s such a good player. But he is a very good person as well. I really enjoy being in the camp with him.’
During the last Euros, Bellingham spent some of his ‘down time’ filming a documentary about himself. It seemed a strange way to relax and suffice to say he isn’t doing that here. He has, over time, bought in wholly to Tuchel’s desire for a squad in which every member is equal.
Team-mates like Elliot Anderson have sung Bellingham’s praises as a role model in the camp
Bellingham has a bond with fellow midfielders Jordan Henderson (centre) and Morgan Rogers (right)
It was at Paris Saint-Germain – where he managed for two-and-a-half seasons – that Tuchel first fully realised how a talented group could under-perform if it contained players who were not on message. His decision to exclude Bellingham from his squad for two games last October was a risk, even if he did not publicly accept it as such.
But he was, at the time, still trying to work out exactly what the hierarchy of his squad was and – at that moment – it was easier to do it without Bellingham’s presence complicating matters.
Here in America, Bellingham is part of an unofficial leadership group that also features captain Harry Kane and Declan Rice. That, as much as anything, shows the way that Bellingham has stepped – intentionally or otherwise – into line.
Speaking to another high-profile former international here in America this week, it was interesting to hear the view from the outside.
‘I am not English, so it’s easy to view the Bellingham situation without emotion,’ the former World Cup player said. ‘To me, it was clear that Tuchel had to send Bellingham a message. You could see there was a problem just by watching England play.
‘All the arm waving and obvious signs of exasperation with his team-mates. If I am in that England team, am I accepting that? Absolutely not. Did Tuchel have to do something about it? Of course he did. I watched the way Bellingham celebrated his goal against Croatia, by the way. I didn’t see much of a thank you for the person who had passed the ball to him.’
Perhaps this is the line that Bellingham now walks with England. The last thing Tuchel wants is to take away the streak of belief and uber-confidence that played such a part in his goal against Croatia. He needs his best player front and centre at this World Cup and some leeway continues to be given when it comes to fulfilling certain media duties, for example.
Equally, he needs the selfless and disciplined 90 minutes Bellingham gave him in Dallas to be repeated seven times if England are to have a chance of winning this World Cup.
Bellingham is part of an unofficial leadership group that also features captain Harry Kane (left) and Declan Rice (centre)
While his relationship with Tuchel is as good as it needs to be, Bellingham continues to also value the opinion of former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti
Bellingham was excellent in the No 10 position behind Kane before dropping back to partner Anderson in front of an uncertain back four after Rice went off with a tight hamstring. He may be asked to do that again if the Arsenal player continues to be troubled by the problem.
Bellingham has played all over the field at Real and is good enough and clever enough to cope. He is understood to have spoken to former Real coach Carlo Ancelotti – out here as coach of Brazil – at times over the past 12 months. He trusts his opinion.
His relationship with Tuchel, meanwhile, is said to be as good as it needs to be. The German chose this squad carefully and with a variety of different motivations, as we know. Bellingham listens to Henderson, for example, and Tuchel knows that. It’s not the only reason the Brentford player is here but it’s certainly one of them.
Bellingham and his family remain sensitive to criticism. One high-profile former player now in the media discovered that to his surprise midway through last season. But listening to Bellingham speak last week about how much playing for England means to him was further indication that some important self-awareness has perhaps arrived for a player who remains very young.
‘It’s been a gradual process into being where I am with the England squad,’ Bellingham said. ‘I wore the captain’s armband for the first time in the friendlies which means I’m on a good path and I know I can contribute whether it be from the starting XI or from the bench. I understand other players deserve to play as well.’
Tuchel claims to have never quite understood what he believes to be a media obsession with Bellingham while the England manager has taken criticism from some quarters over his handling of his No 10. Some view his strategy as an unnecessary flexing of muscles. An alternative take is that some tough love has worked. That’s called management.
Bellingham has arrived in America as the player and the person Tuchel has always wanted and needed him to be. If it lasts, he may get his reward.
