BENGALURU: "DIVISIVE soloist."
"Angry young man."
"Leave Jude at home."
"Selfish star."
These were some of the phrases one popular UK newspaper used with respect to Jude Bellingham leading up to the World Cup. England's footballers and their media can have a difficult relationship, but the relationship between Jude Bellingham and England's newspapers has bordered on toxic territory for a few years.
On his YouTube channel, the Real Madrid star famously described some of the UK press as 'vultures'. "When I get up there, I feel like they're all like vultures waiting for me to say something which is half controversial and turn it into a massive story."
What didn't help was Thomas Tuchel's mother wading into the Bellingham debate and how the German put it in one press conference last year. In that same press conference, though, Tuchel was categorical when he said the presence of Bellingham made England a better side. "I think he has a certain something," Tuchel had said. "I think he brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things. It needs to be channelled. The edge needs to be channelled toward the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate teammates, or to be overaggressive to teammates or referees."
In one of the competition's grandest stages — the Estadio Azteca — Bellingham showed off his 'I'm him' energy to help England advance to the quarterfinals. The 'edge' he brought to the occasion helped them. Harry Kane is one of their greatest footballers and they also have a fine collection of players. But there's something about the Madrid star. When he moved from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund as a teen, Birmingham retired the No. 22 jersey he had worn. He had just turned 17. It was why their decision was met with incredulity among their own supporters. But the club staff knew what they were losing and wanted to use Bellingham to inspire every kid in the academy. A kid inspiring other kids.
The midfielder, now 23, is in the middle of conjuring something special. Against Mexico, he was everywhere. He stooped low to give them the lead. He then converted a sweeping move to give them a two-goal cushion. Two goals in as many minutes to quieten a crowd of 80,000. When he wasn't scoring against Mexico, he was preventing them from scoring. There was a last-gasp tackle when Cesar Montes was poised to make it 2-2 in first-half stoppage time. The home captain had only the goalkeeper to beat from a couple of yards out when the all-action midfielder stretched his leg to hack the ball away. It was heroic defiance, and England used it as a platform when they had to defend as a collective after going down to 10 in the 54th minute.
If the first 45 minutes was all about Bellingham, the second half was about their bloody-mindedness in the face of a brutal siege on their goal. They added a third goal soon after the red but in that second 45 minutes, they had to defend for their lives. Mexico outshot them 13-3, outpassed them 192-69, enjoyed more possession (72-28) and had more touches in the opposition box (24-8). But the 1966 winners, who have previously wilted in global tournaments, displayed another side to them.
Every El Tri wave, howled on by over 80000 fans, was met with dogged resistance, multiple England bodies on the line willing to get their hands and feet dirty. It's why it will go down as one of their greatest World Cup away wins of all time.
After the thriller, Kane, Bellingham and other colleagues got together to sing 'Wonderwall' with their fans. "Maybe," they sang in unison, "you are gonna be the one that saves me..."
On Sunday night, Bellingham was the one who saved them. Up next? A meeting with a former colleague of Bellingham's. Erling Haaland.