Jude Bellingham's 94th-minute overhead kick against Slovakia at Euro 2024 was supposed to be the moment that cemented his place as England's golden boy. As he turned to the fans and roared “who else?”, no one argued. Yet two years on, as England prepare to face Croatia in their World Cup opener in Dallas on Wednesday, Bellingham's star has not exactly fallen – but it has dimmed.
The shoulder and hamstring injuries, the omission from squads, the public friction with head coach Thomas Tuchel. After Tuchel described Bellingham's on-field behaviour as “repulsive” – a word he later said he used “unintentionally” and apologised for – the relationship between player and manager has appeared fragile. Tuchel then left Bellingham out of the squad for the friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier against Latvia last October, even though the Real Madrid star wanted to be included after recovering from shoulder surgery.
“Jude Bellingham's World Cup build-up has been overshadowed by Thomas Tuchel's tough love and rivalry with Morgan Rogers.”
Now, with England’s Group L campaign finally under way after more than two weeks of acclimatisation in the United States, Bellingham faces a new challenge: the emergence of his boyhood friend Morgan Rogers. The Aston Villa midfielder has pushed Bellingham for the No 10 role behind captain Harry Kane, and Tuchel, who has steadfastly refused to operate a star system, has made the battle for that position the subject of intense debate – unthinkable after Euro 2024.
Tuchel’s brutal honesty is not reserved for Bellingham alone. The head coach has kept his players guessing, with four places in the starting XI still up for grabs hours before kick-off. There was a blow on Tuesday when Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury, prompting the call-up of Trevoh Chalobah – a decision that has divided opinion in the England camp.
Around 10,000 England supporters are expected in Dallas, where high heat and humidity will be mitigated by the air conditioning inside the AT&T Stadium. But the temperature inside Tuchel’s squad is harder to control. Bellingham, once the team’s unquestioned golden boy, must prove he can be the key figure in England’s quest for World Cup glory – or watch his star fade further.