YELLOW BELLY
Jude Bellingham has always known he is good at football, right from being a tot in the streets of Stourbridge, his talent so obvious his jumpers-for-goalposts period was all too brief. At Birmingham City, even Tom ‘Winningest’ Brady has to bow to the legend of Jude, who as a teenager helped keep Blues in the Championship, before his sale to Dortmund kept the club afloat. Thus was Jude’s No 22 shirt retired in 2021, an honour not even Trev Francis, Blues’ previous teenage deity, was afforded.
So, the football world has long known that Bellingham was good at football. He’s still only 21, though time waits for nobody, particularly when Myles Lewis-Skelly is galloping down the left. The big question, despite Bellingham’s performances at both the Human Rights World Cup and Euro 2024, is just how good he actually is.
On Monday, at Wembley, as Latvia put up Maginot Lines to stop Thomas Tuchel’s five-man attack, Jude seemed miffed with proceedings. A flick and trick here and there kept the happy-clappy types pleased enough but Bellingham, who probably had “future England captain” graffitied on his geography exercise book, wasn’t at the centre of proceedings. Morgan Rogers, another son of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, looked far more likely to bust the Baltic boys’ dam.
Bellingham was guilty of a lazy, late tackle, resulting in a yellow card and left the field at half-time offering his usual advice to anyone listening. Next, more frustration, as Bellingham extended a cruncher on Latvia defender Raivis Jurkovskis, more worthy of the ever metaphysical “orange” card than the yellow that should have resulted. But with Bellingham escaping any further punishment, Tuchel took swift action and later admitted “it would have turned the game upside down so we decided to take him out straight away. I think you could see he did not feel so fresh. That was my observation, I’m not sure if he will agree.”
At Real Madrid, where Carlo Ancelotti indulges his players with a raised eyebrow and terse instructions to win, Bellingham can be a free spirit, as long as his fiefdom doesn’t incur into the empires of Vinícius Júnior and Kylian Mbappé. Tuchel, hardly a coach known for giving players their own ball, prefers things his way.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Scott Murray is on hand for piping hot MBM coverage of North Macedonia 1-2 Wales, with kick-off of the World Cup qualifier at 7.45pm GMT.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“He was known to go up for corners at any moment of the game and not just at the end, so I did that. I started playing at Chelsea and after a few games for a corner I went up and the coach screamed. I didn’t understand what he was saying, but after that he explained to me that if I’m in goal, I can’t attack. When I arrived in England I was told I can’t do that, not on all corners. I scared some teams here” – Amandine Miquel, manager of WSL strugglers Leicester City, explains how Jorge Campos and her childhood move from France to Mexico had a big impact on her playing career as a goalkeeper, with Chelsea coaches in 1996 apparently baffled by the then 12-year-old’s willingness to go up for corners.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Huge kudos to Spain for arranging their victory photo (yesterday’s Football Daily) as an homage to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, with full marks in particular to Messrs Cucurella and Merino for their positioning and facial expressions” – Patrick Taverner.
Fab piece on the Nations League yesterday but according to my rusty addition, there were 41 net-rustlers and billowers on Sunday. Feel free to reveal your calculations (other than blame your personal typist)” – Rob Steen (and no other frustrated Opta statisticians).
In Monday’s edition you wrote: ‘Providing a convoluted qualification system to a 48-team World Cup that is now almost impossible not to qualify for’. Oh, aye? Just you wait and see Scotland find a way to do it. I know they will – I’ve been watching them for far too long” – Peter Storch.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Patrick Taverner, who gets a copy of Engulfed: how Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World. It’s available in the Guardian Bookshop. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we have them, can be viewed here.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
It’s your boy, David Squires, with a sideways glance at Thomas Tuchel’s winning start to life as England’s new head coach.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Is it OK to say Tuchel’s two England wins have been a bit dull? Max Rushden, Nicky Bandini, Lucy Ward and Paul Watson will give you an answer in the latest Football Weekly podcast.
Meanwhile, in Tuesday’s Women’s Football Weekly pod, Faye Carruthers, Suzy Wrack, Jamie Spangher and Chris Paouros chew over the Chelsea-City rivalry and whether the new global World Sevens competition is another money-making scheme or good for the women’s game.
THE REAL DEAL?
In better news for Jude Bellingham, he might have a new pal in Madrid soon with Trent Alexander-Arnold just a swish of a pen away from signing a shiny five-year deal for the Bigger Cup champions. The right-back’s contract is up this summer, meaning the 26-year-old can leave for free, and Madrid are at the front of the queue. Not an easy pill for Reds fans to swallow, given TAA is a local lad, in his prime, has won the lot with his boyhood club and now looks like he’s leaving for precisely nowt. Perhaps this will kickstart the Liverpool suits into gear as they look to avoid losing Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk on similarly free transfers. Or maybe not. The last English defender to sign for Real Madrid was Jonathan Woodgate, and if Trent Alexander-Arnold can avoid scoring an own goal and getting a red card on his debut, then he’s got a fighting chance of making it in Spain.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have been acquitted for a second time on charges of fraud, forgery, mismanagement and misappropriation of $2.2m (£1.7m) of Fifa money in 2011 after the Swiss attorney general’s office had challenged their 2022 acquittal.
Sarina Wiegman has admitted she’s still umming and ahing over who should be England’s first-choice goalkeeper in this summer’s Euros. “They’re both world class. They both bring a little bit different things, but that makes it really hard. We haven’t decided,” she shrugged. Wiegman’s squad for the upcoming double-header against Belgium includes a return for Fran Kirby and a first call-up for her Brighton teammate Maisie Symonds. More here.
The National Women’s Soccer League and Gotham FC are investigating after “hateful language” was directed at Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda. “This behaviour is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums,” said an NWSL statement.
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill says he hopes his side ensure Sweden hot-shot Alexander Isak “has a quiet night” in Tuesday’s friendly. Good luck!
And Australia secured a flamin’ 2-0 win away to China in World Cup qualifying.
STILL WANT MORE?
Tommy T was wise to haul off Bellingham at Wembley last night but England still need a proper midfield conductor, says Jacob Steinberg, while John Brewin gives his player ratings.
Steve Clarke’s Scotland have served him well but their race may be run, muses Ewan Murray.
Michael Olise is filling an Antoine Griezmann-shaped hole for France, notes Luke Entwistle.
This book extract from Not That Chris Evans recall how Gary Lineker launched himself towards superstardom, and salvaged England’s World Cup, in 1986.
And Raúl Jiménez’s stellar Fulham form is revitalising Mexico too, writes Jon Arnold.
MEMORY LANE
Jack Charlton strums a guitar as the England team stroll around the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City during the 1970 World Cup. Charlton would retire from England duty after the tournament. On the plane back from Mexico he agonised over how to break the news to the ferocious Alf Ramsey, before sitting down next to the England manager and blurting out: “Great times … absolute privilege … getting older … slowing down … not sure I am up to it any more … time to step down.” Ramsey listened patiently, before snapping: “Yes, I had reached that conclusion myself.”
