Jude Bellingham: A Rising Star in International Football

Jude Bellingham is 21 years old and already playing international tournaments as if they were his personal stage.

Handed a starting role as England opened another major campaign, he drove them through a 4-2 win over Croatia, dictating tempo and tone. When the next test arrived, a tight, awkward encounter with Panama, it was Bellingham who broke the deadlock, again dragging his country forward when the game threatened to drift.

England needed a spark. They got two.

Bellingham and record-breaking captain Harry Kane stepped up together in the last 16, both finding the net in a thrilling victory over Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium. In that febrile, high-altitude cauldron, Bellingham produced a first-half burst that felt like a statement to the rest of the tournament: a quick-fire brace, wild celebrations, and the sense that he can bend knockout football to his will.

His talent has never really been in doubt. His character has. The swagger, the “who else?” celebration that became a defining image of Euro 2024, the chest-out certainty that he belongs at the very top – all of it has been dissected and debated.

For Danny Murphy, there is no debate at all.

Speaking to GOAL in association with BetWright football betting, the former England midfielder painted Bellingham as a rare, complete package. “He's a wonderful footballer in terms of his all-round game, athleticism, technical ability, fitness. He's got the lot,” Murphy said, before homing in on the trait that really sets him apart: “He's also got that wonderful mentality and belief in himself that you see very rarely in young players when you look down the years. Maybe Stevie G, maybe [Wayne] Rooney, Michael Owen, that type of level.”

Murphy has watched Bellingham closely, both for club and country, and nothing he is seeing now shocks him. Even at Euro 2024, when England often laboured, Bellingham kept forcing the issue. “Even in the Euros when we played badly he was still the one. I was at games where he was the one trying to make things happen - he had the overhead kick and the header in the first game to get us the win.”

That blend – elite ability tied to an unshakeable inner drive – is what convinces Murphy that any suggestion Bellingham should not start for England was always absurd. He bristled at the pre-tournament debates that placed others on his level. “He's got something very few players have, which is that balance between wonderful ability and an unbelievable mentality and belief in himself. I found it bizarre… I found it a little bit laughable. Not because Rogers isn't a brilliant player but Bellingham's levels are a step above and he's proven it in big tournaments.”

If the international stage has confirmed Bellingham’s status, his club career has underlined it in bold. Murphy pointed straight at his first year in Spain. “Actually, even if you take away international football, to walk into Madrid and do what he did in that season is nothing short of incredible. The only reason this season's been a bit off for him is because of some injuries.”

For Murphy, the equation is simple: “If he's fit, he plays. It doesn't matter where either. It actually doesn't matter where because he's so blessed.” Coaches can shuffle him across the midfield or push him closer to goal; his influence endures. The ego that comes with that level of talent, Murphy argues, never spills into entitlement on the pitch. “I'm really pleased for him because although some people don't like that kind of arrogance or that belief and it comes across to some the wrong way, I love that because it never, ever impacts his output in the game. Normally, you get players who think they're amazing and they are amazing but sometimes they walk about and think that scheme should work for them. He's not that guy.”

Pressed on that point, Murphy drew a sharp line between Bellingham and some of the great specialists of the modern era. “It's not always conducive with a phenomenal work ethic,” he admitted of that superstar mentality. “The best players over the years gone by, you could look down at some of them and go, yes, he was amazing but I didn't see him tracking back or pressing or closing down. Salah would be a good example of that. He's not particularly bothered about the defending but it doesn't matter because he wins you so many football matches. Bellingham's both.”

That is the crux of it. The running. The pressing. The willingness to close down and then, seconds later, to glide past opponents as if the game belongs to him. “He just looks incredible to me. He looks like he's enjoying it. He looks like he can win games on his own. He's just a phenomenal player,” Murphy said.

The critics who once argued Bellingham should be eased in, or even left at home, have been drowned out by the evidence on the pitch. Murphy did not hold back. “For those who did question whether he should be playing or even some articles suggesting he should stay at home, they should be holding their head in shame, those guys, and actually apologising publicly.”

Bellingham will not wait for that apology. There are more games to shape, more nights to own, and another tournament bending to the will of a midfielder who already plays like he has seen it all before.