Jude Bellingham will face Croatia in England's World Cup opener in Dallas on Wednesday, and the 22-year-old appears to have won the battle for the No 10 role behind Harry Kane. For readers asking where is jude bellingham from, the bigger answer on this stage is that England are leaning on him again as they open another major tournament campaign.
Bellingham and Croatia in Dallas
Bellingham comes into the opener after a mixed season at Real Madrid, but he looked fit, fired up and integrated in Thomas Tuchel's squad on arrival in the United States. That puts him in position to start in Dallas, with Morgan Rogers the player he has been competing with for the central attacking role behind Kane.
The England coach has not built the side around a star system, and that has already shaped Bellingham's path back into the team. Tuchel apologised after saying his own mother sometimes viewed Bellingham's on-field behaviour as "repulsive" after the friendly loss at home to Senegal last June.
Tuchel's selection call
Last October, Tuchel left Bellingham out of England's squad for the friendly at home to Wales and the World Cup qualifier away to Latvia, despite the midfielder wanting to be included after recovering from shoulder surgery. Since the Euro 2024 final, Bellingham has made nine starts in the 20 games England have played.
That selection record shows the shift in his status. He was a central figure at Euro 2024, scoring an overhead kick against Slovakia with the clock at Gelsenkirchen reading 94 minutes 34 seconds, then helping England beat Slovakia 2-1 after extra time in the last 16 before the run ended with defeat to Spain in the final in Berlin.
England's No 10 battle
England still need Bellingham to deliver in the role he has appeared to win, because the opener against Croatia comes with the pressure of a long wait for a men's World Cup title stretching back to 1966. His place is no longer automatic, but the combination of his 94th-minute rescue work at Euro 2024 and his stronger position under Tuchel gives England a familiar focal point as the tournament begins.
Bellingham was also seen in England's dressing room presenting Liverpool's 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha with his first cap after his debut against New Zealand in Tampa, a small sign of how quickly he has settled back into the group. The immediate task is sharper: hold the No 10 job, start against Croatia and turn a debated role into a settled one.
