Birthday boy Bellingham is now England’s key player

Jude Bellingham said it plainly when interviewed after inspiring England to a 2-0 win over Panama in New Jersey, and into the knockout stages, where they will face Congo. Three games into this World Cup it also reads less like a preference and more like a statement of fact. The pre-tournament uncertainty around who would play as ten has gone. In Thomas Tuchel’s system, Bellingham has made himself the point around which everything else turns.

Across England’s opening matches, controlled and assured against Croatia, man-of-the-match against Ghana, then genuinely world-class against Panama. His influence has shifted from important to indispensable. His critics have been muted. If Harry Kane remains England’s captain, Bellingham is becoming the star turn.