In the 95th minute against Slovakia at the Euros, Jude Bellingham scored an overhead kick that rescued England. Two years on, at the World Cup 2026, he is doing it again — this time with the blessing of a manager who once found his behaviour "repulsive".
After England's 2-0 win against Panama, Bellingham has scored two of the team's most important goals of the tournament: the strike to restore a lead against Croatia and the volley to break the deadlock against Panama. He also assisted Harry Kane's third World Cup goal five minutes after his own against Panama. Together, Kane and Bellingham have scored five of England's six goals in the tournament.
“Jude Bellingham has scored two crucial goals for England at World Cup 2026, becoming Thomas Tuchel's key player after a strained past.”
Thomas Tuchel, who previously omitted Bellingham in October and seemed to prefer Morgan Rogers, now faces a different kind of problem: reliance. "I'm not sure if it's a reaction," Tuchel said after the Panama game, "but it is what we want from him. He was very positive from the first day in camp. He buys fully into all the things we demand as a team player, and then he brings his own individual quality to decide football games."
Yet the concern is that England look short of creativity, hoping Bellingham's individual brilliance will provide salvation. Tuchel countered that the team works in units: "Sometimes it's just a run from someone else to open the space up for Jude so that he can shine." He pointed to a first-half chance where Nico O'Reilly's run took an opponent out, freeing Bellingham.
Against Panama, Bellingham was deployed in a box-to-box role in Declan Rice's absence. Tuchel confirmed he "played as a 10 when we had the ball," with England's shape flipping between a 3-2-5 and a 3-1-6 depending on how Bellingham read the game. The manager wanted "to have six players in the last line" to outnumber Panama's back five.
England's guiding principles under Tuchel — vertical passes for runners in behind, collective counter-pressing, and wide-area build-up using triangles of full-back, winger, and attacking midfielder — were on show, but the team also built through the centre with mixed results. Bellingham's tactical adaptability papered over cracks, especially after an injury to Reece James forced Jarell Quansah into a right-back role that required him to slot into a back three in possession.
Tuchel has already faced questions about over-reliance on Kane. Now there is a new question: can England thrive without Bellingham's constant intervention? "We want to play more in patterns and more in units," Tuchel said. "And Jude is a part of it. It's not only about patterns, it's about the quality in the pattern." For now, that quality belongs overwhelmingly to one 22-year-old.