Jude Bellingham sparks fresh England captaincy debate as Harry Kane dealt reality check

England cruised to a 3-0 Nations League victory over Greece in Athens on Thursday night with captain Harry Kane on the bench and Jude Bellingham running the show in midfield

By: irishmirror.ie

Nov 15 2024
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Jude Bellingham sparks fresh E

Jude Bellingham has underlined his credentials as a future England captain.

Real Madrid superstar Bellingham, 21, led by example as England’s next generation produced a memorable victory in Greece and is now "raising the bar" in terms of performance. And, according to England interim boss Lee Carsley, Bellingham is a player that all of his teammates look up to in every single game and training session.

Bellingham was sensational in Athens as he ran the game, stood out like a beacon in his No.10 shirt and embraced the extra responsibility as England’s team had been decimated by withdrawals. This was Bellingham’s moment - and he grasped it. And in doing so, it also opened up a whole new debate as to who might inherit the armband after Harry Kane.

England captain Kane is 31 and his country’s record scorer and has carried a nation’s hopes on his shoulders for the past few tournaments. But even Kane cannot go on forever and the fact that Carsley was even willing to experiment with Ollie Watkins up front shows England will have to look to the future.

England manager-in-waiting Thomas Tuchel championed Kane at Bayern Munich last season and they have a strong relationship. But the way Bellingham enjoyed being the main man in Athens perhaps shows that he will embrace extra responsibility on his shoulders.

He also looked fully fit and back to his best of a year ago rather than at the Euros after a gruelling season in Madrid and being weighed down by expectation. Carsley said: “He always plays with responsibility. I know we only see it during games but he does it in training, he leads by example, he’s a really good person to have around because people want to aspire to him and compete with him.

“You’ve seen in Greece that there is a level of player coming into the squad who are definitely raising the bar.” Carsley also pointed to Bellingham and other members of the England squad gaining Champions League experience and that will elevate them to a different level.

Carsley said: “Jude along with the majority of the team have a different kind of experience. A lot of Champions League experience for the age of the team which helps, they’ve done it for their clubs but now done it for England. It wasa great atmosphere for them to experience.

England's manager Lee Carsley talks to England's Jude Bellingham during the game against Greece — Lee Carsley has been impressed by Bellingham during his brief spell as England manager (Image: AP)

"They don’t see themselves as inexperienced or a worry or gamble to start games. Jude was outstanding in Greece, he doesn’t just lead in games like you’ve seen in Greece, he does it in training and in his preparation. It’s good for him to see the qualities that are underneath and coming through.”

It is hard to imagine Tuchel not sticking with Kane as his No.9 and captain when he takes over on January 1. But as time goes on, Bellingham will only grow in stature and he will lift even more trophies with Real Madrid which will make him a serial winner.

Tuchel will want winners in his England set-up going into the next World Cup and will surely love working with Bellingham. It does beg the question: what makes a good captain? Some players are natural leaders while others fit into the category of being the best player on the pitch. They set the standard. Bellingham has the potential to do both.

Bellingham has certainly not courted the captaincy and there are other candidates like Declan Rice or even his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka as a player the youngsters look up to.

But Bellingham can provide a very strong argument with each match-winning performance and the fact he showed up and delivered in Greece when others cried off will not have gone unnoticed.

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