Jude Bellingham: England teenager with maverick gifts but a steely focus

Rise from Birmingham City academy to World Cup ace is just the start for midfielder whose talent matches his temperament

Tue, 06 Dec, 2022 - 09:06

Jacob Steinberg

The weird thing about Jude Bellingham, the teenage sensation establishing himself as one of the best footballers in the world, is that there was nothing surprising about the way he ran the game for England when they demolished Senegal in the last 16 of the World Cup on Sunday night.

There are no limits to the England midfielder’s prodigious talent. The 19-year-old from Stourbridge has the cockiness of Paul Gascoigne at Italia 90, the audacity of Michael Owen at the 1998 World Cup and the explosiveness of an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004. Resistance is futile, even for those around the Borussia Dortmund star. “I don’t want to big up Jude Bellingham too much because he’s still young, but he’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen,” Phil Foden said, trying and failing to play it cool as he discussed his teammate after the win against Senegal.