Jude Bellingham’s moment of cinema makes us wonder where this might go

04-Dec-2022 22:11:28 | Guardian

England’s midfield sensation was magnificent in difficult moments, a source of control when it was close to the edge

England’s second goal just before half-time at Al Bayt Stadium, the goal that killed this World Cup last-16 tie, was a pure Jude Bellingham moment. Watching the three white England shirts surge and veer like an aerial display team across that wide-open lozenge of green, it almost felt like a moment of show-Bellingham, a gloss to go with all the close-quarter moments in between, the moments of graft that had kept England in this game in its early stages.

This, though, was pure cinema. England had been flat at times in the first half against Senegal, had seemed to be playing with a tension headache. But they were 1-0 up when Bellingham picked the ball up forty yards from his own goal, shrugged his way into space, and looked up. You could almost hear the whirr of maths being crunched, lanes and distances overlaid, prelude to a moment of calculated abandon as Bellingham surged for the open space, sensing the tender point in front of him.