MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- On a hot, nervy evening in Miami, we saw every side of what makes Jude Bellingham a born winner. We watched him score England's two goals in their 2-1 win over Norway. We saw him run himself into the ground. We heard later how he wears his heart on his sleeve with a slim filter as he refused to let Thomas Tuchel's criticism of the team's performance wash over him. And all of this was against the backdrop learnt of his mum's advice, spinning through his head as he sought to avoid a heart-breaking yellow card. "My mum was telling me all week to watch my language, watch my tackles, watch my face, watch my emotions," Bellingham said.
Just moments before, he was asked about Tuchel's criticism of the team and whether that was a sign of the sky-high standards at which he holds England. "Maybe, maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in these types of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Ødegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sørloth, you know," Bellingham said. "That's not an easy team to play against."
Bellingham will not be the first nor the last player to take umbrage with feedback from his boss he deems unfair. Players snap, then reconciliate. But anchoring it all is one undeniable fact: Bellingham feels there's a World Cup to be won, and he's going to strain every sinew trying to drag England over the line. This is Bellingham's World Cup.
As you left the stadium on Saturday evening, you heard little pockets of "Wonderwall", "Three Lions" and another song about Tuchel. But the dominant song? "Hey Jude". The England fans knew they'd witnessed yet another performance of undeniable greatness.
You feel Tuchel's man management of Bellingham has helped nudge him to this point of putting in tournament-defining performances game after game.
Bellingham and Tuchel's relationship hasn't been straightforward. In August last year, Tuchel said his mother found some of Bellingham's on-field behaviour "repulsive". Tuchel soon apologised for that choice of language.
When the October squad announcement came around, Bellingham - who had just been named England's player of the year for 2024-25 - was left out of the squad, soon after he underwent shoulder surgery. By Nov. 2025, Bellingham was back in the group, but he was no longer a guaranteed starter. Tuchel had taken a liking to Morgan Rogers in the No.10 spot. Bellingham continued building at Real Madrid while Rogers' form fluctuated, but then peaked again as he helped Aston Villa win the Europa League. All the while, Bellingham waited. In those few months, whether intentionally or not, Tuchel sent a message to Bellingham: we need you, but you're spot in the team is not guaranteed.
He confirmed this as much in June 2026, when Tuchel said: "He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are 14 or 15 proper starters and Jude is one of them."
You can imagine Bellingham was like a coiled spring: eager to play, prove Tuchel he's worthy of the starting spot, but like all great prodigies, desperate to be given space and time to allow himself to express his undeniable talent.
It all came together in America. In England's two warm-up matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica, Bellingham went from a figure with a shot at the starting 11 to someone who simply had to be on the team sheet. We saw immediately why against Croatia: the spectacular goal, the relentless effort. Against Ghana, every England player was frustrated. By the time Panama came along, he scored the key goal in the 62nd minute to break the opposition's resolve. His work rate was relentless against Congo DR. And then came his star act against Mexico. He scored those two quickfire goals in the first-half, and also somehow got ahead of César Montes to make that key interception as it looked like Mexico were nailed-on to equalise before the break. In the final corner of the match, Bellingham was cramping up. He could barely walk. But he somehow got his exhausted legs working for one last effort, and helped defend Mexico's last attack. It was heroic.
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And then came Norway; a match England found so tough to navigate, the heat sapping and the legs exhausted. It needed Bellingham. His first goal was magnificent as he timed his run to perfection, took three touches to guide himself through Norway's defence and then shot back across Ørjan Nyland to give England the lead. He continued to run himself into the ground, straining his shoulder for one cross, taking a kick off the ball on another run and constantly trying to play off the defender's shoulder to get on the end of English crosses. For all that graft, he eventually got the decisive goal.
He'd been in his friend Rogers' ear. Eventually it clicked. "I told him [Morgan Rogers] to keep going, I knew he was going to make an impact," Bellingham said afterwards on ITV. "I've scored loads of those types of goal, the goalkeeper had a worldy but was unlucky to be fair the way it popped up but I was lucky to be there to put it in." Bellingham was replaced in the 111th minute, and by full-time, he was picking up his fourth Player of the Match award in six matches at this World Cup.
Then came the indirect exchange with his boss; comments interpreted and relayed from several interviews with adrenaline still high, and body temperatures still roasting. Tuchel hailed him as "absolutely brilliant" after "another decisive performance." He said Bellingham is in "world-class form" but "as a team we need to play better". Tuchel calling the team's performance "sloppy" and saying they were "lucky" clearly riled Bellingham and led to him sticking up for his teammates. You can imagine Tuchel would have had a wry smile at reading those comments: Bellingham putting the team first, eager on keeping this journey going until July 19. "It was a masterclass with fight and spirit," Bellingham said. "I'm so proud of the team, what we managed to produce."
That's music to Tuchel's ears. He can take the little barbs and bites. That's all part of dealing with mavericks. Hell, Sir Alex Ferguson had to deal with Eric Cantona karate-kicking a supporter and had his disagreements with Wayne Rooney. Cristiano Ronaldo is hardly straightforward to deal with. Lionel Messi, who England will meet next, has his moments. Zinedine Zidane headbutted someone in a World Cup final. But they've won countless matches, and have overflowing trophy cabinets. As a manager, you just must find a way to get the best out of these generational talents, and that comes down to man management. Some managers get it wrong and it blows up in their face, but when a manager gets it right, you get fireworks instead of explosives.
England have looked to Harry Kane and Bellingham in decisive moments at this World Cup. Kane's been immense. Bellingham's doubles helped them navigate the altitude of the Azteca, and the humidity of Miami. Tuchel says England's win over Norway was about mentality. No one embodied that never-say-die attitude and putting Tuchel's desired "brotherhood" mantra first more than Bellingham.
"I'm enjoying my football, I'm blessed to be in the position to help my country win football games," Bellingham said. "That's all I can say. I don't care if it's the best or whatever, I don't care, as long as we keep winning games that's all that matters." Tuchel would agree.
