Jude Bellingham: A Rising Superstar in International Football

Jude Bellingham has spent this summer turning big stages into his own private arena.

Handed a starting role as another international campaign kicked off, he dragged England through a bruising 4-2 opener against Croatia, driving the team on and setting the tone. When Panama tried to turn the second group game into a scrap, it was Bellingham who broke the deadlock, imposing himself on a contest that threatened to drift.

When England needed something more than structure and shape, when they needed personality, he and record-breaking captain Harry Kane answered. Both scored in a breathless last-16 victory over Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium, a game that crackled from first whistle to last. Bellingham didn’t just appear on the scoresheet; he tore the tie open, rattling in a quick-fire brace before half-time and igniting wild celebrations among the travelling support.

This is the version of Bellingham the world has come to know: the Birmingham-born midfielder whose character has been dissected as much as his football, yet whose supreme self-belief continues to fuel his rise to global superstardom.

That belief has become a talking point of its own, especially since his now-famous “who else?” celebration at Euro 2024. Former England midfielder Danny Murphy, speaking to GOAL in association with BetWright football betting, sees nothing but the rarest of traits.

"He's a wonderful footballer in terms of his all-round game, athleticism, technical ability, fitness. He's got the lot," Murphy said, placing Bellingham in elite company. He spoke of a mentality seen only occasionally in young English players over the years – the kind associated with Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen. That level.

Murphy has watched Bellingham closely. Even during England’s flat spells at Euro 2024, he recalls the 21-year-old as the one forcing the issue, the one refusing to let games meander. The overhead kick. The decisive header in the opening match. The player who kept trying to bend tournaments to his will.

What strikes Murphy is the balance. The blend of talent and mentality that so few manage to marry. He admitted he found it “a little bit laughable” that there were serious debates over whether Bellingham should start, or whether someone like Adam Wharton (referred to as “Rogers” in the discussion) might be preferred. Not because Wharton lacks quality, but because Bellingham, in Murphy’s eyes, operates on a different plane – and has proved it repeatedly when the stakes are highest.

Strip away the England shirt and the picture barely changes. Murphy pointed to Bellingham walking into Real Madrid and dominating his first season in Spain as “nothing short of incredible”. The only thing that has slightly dulled his impact this year has been injury. When he is fit, Murphy insists, he plays. Anywhere. It simply doesn’t matter where he lines up because of how complete his skill set is.

That swagger, that visible edge, is not to everyone’s taste. Some see arrogance where others see conviction. Murphy is firmly in the latter camp. He loves it, he says, because it never contaminates Bellingham’s work. The ego doesn’t come with a free pass from the graft.

Too often, the greats have been allowed to glide. Match-winners who didn’t always track back, press, or close down, their defensive output forgiven because they decided games at the other end. Murphy name-checked Mohamed Salah as one such example: devastating, decisive, but not particularly interested in defending. It doesn’t matter, he argued, because Salah wins you so many matches.

Bellingham, though, offers both. The goals, the game-changing moments, and the dirty work. He looks, to Murphy, like a footballer who can win matches on his own and still empty the tank for the team. A player who revels in the responsibility rather than shrinking from it.

The criticism, the doubts, the think pieces that once suggested he should not start – or even stay at home – now look badly dated. Murphy believes those voices should be “holding their head in shame” and apologising publicly.

They questioned the attitude. They questioned the role. They questioned whether he was worth building around.

Bellingham’s answer has come in the only language that matters: goals in big games, performances that drag England through danger, and a presence that makes it feel, more and more, like every major tournament will run through him.