JUDE BELLINGHAM is more of a James Bond fan rather than a lover of Marvel films.
Yet even before he started to work with the player at , labelled the midfielder a “superhero” due to his outstanding, all-action performances at the World Cup.
Even though Bellingham headed to the World Cup still unsure of his place in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI, he will end the year back in his rightful position as England’s best player alongside .
As he once again proved against in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat, the 23-year-old is one of the most gifted midfielders in the world.
The alter-ego of one superhero, the Incredible Hulk, used to famously say: “You won’t like me when I am angry,” and this is the case with Bellingham – unless you’re an England fan.
Although he has yet to turn green, he only seems to be at his best when he is raging, as was the case at Wembley.
Bellingham ended up rowing with Bernabeu team-mate , yet that inner fury helped him drag England from a potentially disastrous first-half performance to a surprising 2-1 lead.
Bellingham also came agonisingly close to scoring an injury-time leveller but was denied by a save from Unai Simon.
Asked about how he thrives after getting annoyed with opponents, Tuchel smiled broadly. He said: “He likes that. He gets better if that happens. It’s better if he plays with a bit of rage. It’s what he does. I think sometimes he is looking for these moments to get his fire going.”
Bellingham took issue with Cucurella after a meaty challenge and they continued a heated exchange as the game got back underway.
But aren’t they supposed to be mates? Tuchel added: “I think he doesn’t know any team-mates. He wants to win. He is still friends with them but not for the 90 minutes.”
If you did an England-Spain combined XI, Bellingham and Kane would be the only players in white shirts guaranteed to feature.
Bellingham has just been named as England’s player of the year for the 2025/26 season but still headed to England’s Florida World Cup training camp in a battle with pal .
But the former Birmingham and Dortmund midfielder effectively took Rogers out of the equation with a good second half in the 1-0 friendly win over New Zealand in Tampa and was even better in the 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando.
He ended up being England’s best player in the summer with his two goals in Mexico the highlight, while Bellingham also finished joint third-highest scorer behind and .
Despite finishing tied with on seven goals, he won the Fifa adidas bronze boot award by virtue of having one assist compared to the Norwegian’s zero.
Now Tuchel has a dilemma of how much he can use Bellingham although, surely, he will start against the Czech Republic in Prague tomorrow for his 58th cap.
Asked if Bellingham can play all four Nations League matches in this period, Tuchel said: “I would love to have him four times on the pitch. We will need to check with the physios. We will not put Jude at any risk. But his style is how he plays.”
