Three months after England’s run at the 2018 World Cup ended in semi-final heartbreak, Jude Bellingham made his first appearance for Birmingham City’s Under-23 team – as a 15-year-old.
Not old enough even for a provisional driving licence then, the all-action midfielder is now set to become one of the figures the Three Lions will rely on as they aim to win a first World Cup since 1966.
Declan Rice is an assured starter for Gareth Southgate in midfield but the question of who will partner him is unresolved. Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson, the fulcrum of the 2018 side, has struggled with fitness and completed 90 minutes only thrice this season.
Kalvin Phillips, Rice’s partner when England finished as runners-up at Euro 2020, has been on the pitch in the Premier League for a solitary minute since signing for Manchester City in the summer.
Enter Bellingham.
Being thrust into a key role in your first World Cup is a huge weight for any player to bear, let alone one that turns 20 only next June. Bellingham, though, is no ordinary teenager. These days, he is no stranger to the captain’s armband at German giants Borussia Dortmund, having donned it in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
His ability to keep his head on a swivel and deliver star performances on the big stage is astounding.
In September, he gave a preview of what he could do in Qatar, when England drew 3-3 with auld rivals Germany in a Nations League match.
He was named England’s Man of the Match after a superlative display alongside Rice as they battled the formidable duo of Ilkay Gundogan and Joshua Kimmich, who have 132 caps between them.
Bellingham finished the game with more accurate passes, passes in the final third, and tackles than any other player. He also won the most duels on the pitch. It was only his eighth start for England in winning his 17th cap.
After a breathless Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich in October, The Straits Times asked Bellingham how he manages to excel consistently on the pitch while also dealing with the pressure of his meteoric rise.
Wearing a relaxed smile, he simply said: “I’ve got really good people around me, I’m always kept (grounded) but I always want to get better as well. I think I can always improve.”
Later that month, he also told the Bundesliga website that his mentality was forged from his time at Birmingham, whom he played for from the age of eight until he joined Dortmund at 17.
“Everything you want, you have to work for, and if you’re not getting it, you have to have something in you that sparks you to go and get it,” he said.
City manager Pep Guardiola called this combative mentality “something special” before a Champions League tie in October while former Dortmund skipper Roman Weidenfeller, a member of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, described Bellingham as “very complete... a warrior on the pitch”.
Another ex-Dortmund man, defender Patrick Owomoyela, conducted the club’s first official interview with Bellingham after he signed, and told ST he was struck by his intelligence and ambition.
“I could see he was just so confident in himself, even at 17. And he has backed that up with so much passion and quality. I’m overwhelmed by how much of a talent he is... this kid is incredible,” said Owomoyela, an 11-cap German international.
Europe’s elite clubs will be keeping a close watch on Bellingham’s exploits in Qatar. Liverpool, Real Madrid, City and Manchester United are all said to admire the player, who is valued at a staggering €100 million (S$142.1 million) by Transfermarkt.
All that attention, however, will not bother Bellingham one bit. In fact, he has proven that he thrives under it.
Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Born: Feb 26, 2003
A talent who very nearly could have lined up alongside Bellingham in Qatar, the Bayern Munich starlet is instead set to be the jewel in Germany’s attack.
Born in Stuttgart to a Nigerian father and German mother, Musiala left his country of birth at age seven to join the academy of English giants Chelsea.
The versatile attacking midfielder represented England’s national age-group sides – playing in the same team as Bellingham numerous times – all the way up to the Under-21 level, even after he returned to Germany to join Bayern in 2019.
But he made a U-turn in early 2021 and pledged his senior international allegiance to Germany, having been swayed by his Baryern teammates.
Just like that, Die Mannschaft gained one of the most exciting attackers in world football, one who is lightning quick with excellent close control and an eye for goal.
Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning skipper Lothar Matthaus believes Musiala can emulate his achievement and win a Ballon d’Or. Matthaus, 61, told The Straits Times in October loves Musiala’s single-mindedness in the attacking third.
“He is thinking about football... like chess - always not only the next step, but the next three steps before he gets the ball, he knows what he has to do,” he said.
“The first thing for him is to always go on the offence. I have never seen Musiala with his back towards goal. He is always open, positioned to go ahead. I like this very much.”
Pedri (Spain)
Born: Nov 25, 2002
An archetypical Barcelona midfielder that was not produced by the club’s famous La Masia academy, Pedri has been an instant hit for both club and country since he made the switch from unheralded second-tier side Las Palmas in 2020.
He shone for Spain in their run to the semi-finals of the 2020 European Championship and was later the only teenager named in Uefa’s Team of the Tournament, bagging the Young Player of the Tournament gong as well. He was also named the Golden Boy - the best Under-21 player in Europe - in 2021.
Pedri’s positional intelligence, decision-making and gifted technical ability have led some - including Barcelona manager Xavi, no less - to draw parallels between him and club legend Andres Iniesta.
Perhaps keen to alleviate pressure on the youngster, Iniesta, who played a key role for Spain in their 2010 World Cup triumph, said such comparisons “are not pleasant because they are just noise”.
Pedri himself does not seem to mind. Before the start of this season, he switched his jersey number at Barcelona from 16 to 8, which was synonymous with Iniesta during his time at the club. He even revealed he wanted to mimic Iniesta’s hairstyle when he was younger.
With Pedri’s stock rising - and set to soar even higher in Qatar - Barcelona recently tied their starlet down to a new contract until 2026, with a sensational release clause of €1 billion.
Eduardo Camavinga (France)
Born: Nov 10, 2002
French star striker Kylian Mbappe announced his arrival on football’s top stage in spectacular fashion at the 2018 World Cup, and although a different type of player altogether, Camavinga could have a similar impact in Qatar.
The Angola-born midfielder has already broken Les Bleus records that stood for over a century.
In September 2020, he made his senior international debut aged 17 years, nine months and 29 days to become France’s youngest player since 1914. A month later, he became the youngest player to score for France, with the previous mark also set in 1914.
As he served notice of his talent, Spanish giants Real Madrid snapped him up for €30 million in the summer of 2021.
Combative, athletic and progressive with the ball, Camavinga is still raw but at Real, he is learning from two of the best to play in his position, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
The World Cup presents a chance for him to make a bigger impression.
France are without their title-winning central midfield trio from 2018 - N’golo Kante (hamstring) and Paul Pogba (knee) are injured, while Blaise Matuidi is 35 and his powers have waned.
Camavinga appears to have already earned the nod of approval from Pogba.
“His future is in his hands,” said the Juventus star after Camavinga scored in October 2020. “He is very at ease, he is a little dancer. He makes me think a bit about me. He is not a timid person. It is good because he is confident. He has confidence in his qualities. He is a very good youngster, I like him enormously.”
Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
Born: Jan 23, 2002
Often touted as the perfect example of a “modern” defender, Gvardiol marries the traditional tough-as-nails approach of a player in his position, with the forward thinking and technical proficiency required by many coaches today.
Powerful and uncompromising off the ball, the 1.85m Croat is poised and confident on it, unafraid to play progressive passes into the opposition third or carry the ball up the pitch.
This combination of attributes helps him to be equally adept at left-back - where he featured for Croatia at the 2020 European Championship - or in the heart of defence, which is his preferred role and one that he is likely to be deployed in at the World Cup.
Gvardiol was a wanted man in the summer transfer window, and his German club RB Leipzig rejected a €90 million bid from Chelsea before tying him down to a new deal until 2027.
An impressive tournament in Qatar might just convince some of Europe’s top clubs to stump up a bit more money to tempt Leipzig to finally let their star man leave.
- Additional reporting by David Lee
