Barely had he left the field, replaced at the very end of the match to the ovation of the public, when a God Save the King was chanted by the 20,000 English people who took their seats in the stands of the Veltins-Arena on Sunday June 16. Jude Bellingham is not yet king in his country, but he is indeed the jewel in the English crown. It was thanks to his goal that the Three Lions won their first match of Euro 2024, with a short header against Serbia (1-0).
England will have launched its competition exactly like its 2022 World Cup, with a first goal on a helmet hit from Bellingham. In Doha, against Iran (6-2), the ball came from the left. In Gelsenkirchen, he arrived from the right, from the feet of Bukayo Saka (13e). The result was the same: a goal, a victory and a successful start to the competition for Gareth Southgate’s players.
What has changed in the last year and a half, between Qatar and Germany, is the scale taken by Bellingham. At only 20 years old – he will celebrate his birthday on June 29 – the Real Madrid midfielder is the boss of this English team, without the captain’s armband worn by the experienced Harry Kane. At the final whistle, he was the first to get up from the bench to celebrate the victory with his teammates, in front of the English kop.
England is one of the favorites for the final victory in this Euro, in particular thanks to the quality of its attacking quartet, made up of Bellingham, Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka. “One of the best offensive potentials, if not the best, in world football”according to Alan Shearer, former scorer for the English selection and now consultant for the BBC.
The darling of the English public
Bellingham was the most anticipated of them after his brilliant first season at Real Madrid. The Englishman won his first Champions League at Wembley on 1er June, in front of his mother and his brother Jobe – who plays for the Sunderland club – and above all discovered his offensive qualities, with 23 goals and 13 assists in 42 matches.
“He has the ability to arrive in the opposing penalty area in time to be dangerous”, Carlo Ancelotti said of him at the start of the season. The Italian was smart in placing his young player higher on the pitch, while the latter was considered a relay player. Southgate had the good idea to imitate the Real coach: since playing number 10, Bellingham has scored three of his four goals with the selection, including the one against Serbia.
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