England were floundering, looking nervous and giving up territory and opportunities to Senegal midway through the first half in Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday night. But then the youngest member of its squad made his presence count.
Playing with a freedom and confidence that seemed to have deserted his more experienced teammates, Jude Bellingham, 19, produced crucial contributions to two first-half goals that sent England on their way to a 3-0 victory over Senegal. The win set up a quarter-final clash with France and a meeting with Kylian Mbappé, who was the breakout teenage star of the last World Cup.
Mbappé became a household name when at 19 he exploded onto the global stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, becoming the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pelé in 1958. Bellingham, a midfielder, is also using the sport’s biggest platform to make his mark having made his goal-scoring World Cup debut against Iran two weeks ago.
“Jude is a fantastic player — he does everything well,” England’s captain, Harry Kane, said of Bellingham’s performance, during a postgame news conference. “I like Jude a lot, a good person, mature for his age and great leadership skills. All I would say is keep working and keep learning.”
England manager Gareth Southgate knew Bellingham was something special but acknowledged even he has been surprised at how the teenager has taken the World Cup by the scruff of the neck.
“I don’t think we could have predicted how quickly Bellingham could mature. In the last five months that has gone to another level,” Southgate said of the Borussia Dortmund player, who is reported to be a 100 million pounds ($123.41 million) target for Liverpool.
England teammate Phil Foden, 22, predicted Bellingham would become the best midfielder in the world.
“I don’t want to big him up too much because he is still young, but he’s one of the most gifted players I have ever seen,” Foden said. “He has no weakness in his game.”
England had been at risk of falling behind Senegal, the African champion, when Bellingham made the first of what have now become his customary surges up the field. Seeing an opportunity to transition after Senegal lost the ball, Bellingham sprinted into space down the left side, received the ball from Kane and showed calmness to find Jordan Henderson in the centre of the area.
Henderson, the Liverpool captain and a most unlikely goal scorer here — having scored only twice before in a 12-year career with England’s national team — finished easily before asking the crowd to acclaim the contribution of Bellingham by pointing to the young midfielder as he wheeled away in celebration. Bellingham’s assist for Henderson made him the first teenager to assist for a World Cup knockout-round goal since 1966 when records began to be kept, according to statistics analysts Opta.
Then, with half-time looming, Bellingham made an even more impressive contribution. Finding the ball at his feet just outside England’s penalty area, he burst upfield, arms pumping, strides lengthening, slaloming past desperate efforts to halt him by a clutch of Senegal midfielders. Having broken the defensive line, Bellingham played the ball in to Foden, who immediately found Kane. Kane finally found the back of the net for the first time in this World Cup, a tournament in which England were tied with Spain as the top-scoring team in the group stage.
“As a striker, scoring goals is what you do and one of the best feelings,” Kane said. “I was patient, and thankfully it came today. We have people scoring from all different positions and another great team performance.”
The two-goal difference at half-time did not quite match the balance of chances. Senegal appeared the more dangerous of the two teams, forcing England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford into one reflex save and generally causing jitters in the back line. But it was still clear that Senegal were missing the presence of their captain and inspirational striker, Sadio Mané, their only worldclass forward.
While the chances came, Senegal’s forwards failed to take advantage of them. That lack of killer instinct was punished and exposed by England doing precisely the opposite, taking advantage of two of the few openings they managed to create.
England showed ruthlessness 10 minutes into the second half when they ended the contest with a third score that mirrored the movement involved in their earlier goals. A fast transition led to the ball finding Foden, and his cross was timed perfectly for Bukayo Saka to flick over Édouard Mendy in the Senegal goal.
For all the struggles of its players on the field, Senegal’s traveling supporters kept up a constant percussive beat to accompany the team, a backdrop that has become a hallmark of the tournament and will be missed with Senegal’s exit.
For England, the victory is another hurdle cleared in its now six-decade quest to replicate its sole World Cup triumph of 1966. The serenity of its progress will boost confidence that Southgate’s team — semi-finalists four years ago in Russia — might be in contention for the biggest prize in two weeks.
England will face a much tougher examination of its title credentials at the same stadium on Saturday against France and Mbappé. But with Bellingham in its ranks, anything is possible.
NYTNS & inputs from Reuters