Following a 2-0 win in Albania, England have qualified for the 2026 World Cup with eight wins from eight, and without conceding a goal. With a Champions League winning manager at the helm, and some of the world’s best players in the side, the narrative surrounding this team should be about whether this could really be the squad that will end the nation’s 60 years of pain. Instead, one of the best midfielders in the world, and England’s best young talent, Jude Bellingham, is the centre of conversation, negative conversation, for no particular reason. England have one of the best players in the world at just 22 years of age, but instead of celebrating him, the media are vilifying him, and it has to stop.
There has been enough negativity surrounding Bellingham over the past ten days. So, instead of highlighting ridiculous narratives, let’s look at what he has done in his career for the national team to show why it is obvious that he should be starting for England next summer.
England have had so many great players over the years. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, to name a few. All sensational talents, there is no doubt about that. However, none of those players ever really did it for England at a World Cup. The reason for that warrants another article in itself, and while this article does not intend to diminish the achievements of England greats, the fact is that many players from the nation have showcased their talents in domestic leagues and the Champions League, but never performed at the same level for their country. Jude Bellingham is 22-years-old and has already proven that the same argument cannot be made against him.
Bellingham’s first tournament with England was in Euro 2020, and at 17 years of age he only made a few appearances off the bench given that there were more senior players who played in a similar position to him. That meant the first time England fans properly got to experience Bellingham as a key player in a major tournament was in the 2022 World Cup. On his World Cup debut against Iran, he opened England’s account in the tournament, at the age of only 19. He was arguably England’s best player that day as he was heavily involved in two more goals, narrowly missing out on man of the match to Bukayo Saka, who was also brilliant that day. After a slight dip against the USA in a game England could afford to draw 0-0, Bellingham helped his country top their group with a brilliant display in a 3-0 win against Wales.
In the Round of 16, the then Borussia Dortmund star was the best player on the pitch in a 3-0 win over a Senegal team that many thought would be a tough test for the Three Lions. But, Bellingham assisted Jordan Henderson to open the scoring, before skipping away from several defenders just before half time to lead a counter attack which resulted in Harry Kane finishing off a pass from Phil Foden to make it 2-0. Bellingham was the driving force behind England taking a comfortable lead before the break. Of course, the tournament ended in heartbreak for England, but even after Kane’s missed penalty to make it 2-2 late on against France, Bellingham was the only man to go straight to his captain at maybe the lowest moment of his career, with England still needing to push for an equaliser. Being one his team’s best players at a World Cup, as well as showing signs of leadership in the toughest of times, are the aspects of Bellingham that should be highlighted as England prepare to avenge the heartbreak in Qatar.
As a whole, England were not as good a team at Euro 2024, despite making it to the final. In fact, Bellingham was the only reason the Three Lions avoided an elimination akin to the embarrassment of 2016 against Iceland. His overhead kick to keep his country in the tournament is one of England’s most iconic moments at a major tournament, and that came after he scored the winning goal in his team’s only victory in the groups. Bellingham didn’t play as well in Germany as he did in Qatar, but there weren’t many England players better than him in Euro 2024. Even if he didn’t reach the same heights as the 2022 World Cup, the midfielder still put the nation on his back and dragged his team to the quarter-finals almost single-handedly. In the final, where the game was controlled by Spain, Bellingham was arguably England’s best player again, and if not he was only bettered by Cole Palmer, who the Real Madrid man assisted for the Three Lions’ only goal that day.
This is all without mentioning the 22-year-old’s achievements at club level. Champions League winner, Real Madrid and La Liga’s player of the season, all in his first year in Spain. That was followed by another great season in 2024/25, all with a shoulder injury which he picked up in November of 2023.
That shoulder injury was the reason some of these narratives around Bellingham began. He missed the September squad as he was not yet recovered from his surgery to fix the injury in July 2025. By the time the October squad was announced, Bellingham had only just returned to the pitch for Real Madrid, which sparked silly narratives that Tuchel favoured other players in similar positions. Given Bellingham had missed the past few camps, and with England already qualified, he was understandably on the bench for the first game of the November camp against Serbia. Against Albania, he returned to the squad and was, unsurprisingly, man of the match.
Jude Bellingham is one of the best players in a Real Madrid team that sits atop La Liga. He has been one of England’s best players in two consecutive tournaments, and already provided iconic moments in tournaments in a Three Lions shirt. He should be alongside the likes of Jordan Pickford, Harry Kane and Declan Rice as certain starters for England at the World Cup. If Bellingham isn’t in the starting 11 for England next summer, then throw away any chance of the Three Lions ending 60 years of hurt.
Tom Henigan
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