Jude Bellingham emulates Liverpool and Man Utd in England win

England’s 1-0 win over Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener on Sunday wasn’t pretty, but if one man stood out from the crowd, it was Jude Bellingham.

Heading to Germany on the back of a stunning debut campaign for Real Madrid in which he scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions – winning titles in La Liga, the Champions League and the Supercopa de Espana – Bellingham has high expectations for the three lei at this tournament. .

But despite being just 20 years old, Bellingham doesn’t seem fazed by the pressure. In fact, he thrived in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, opening the scoring and deciding the match after just 13 minutes with a powerful header to convert Bukayo Saka’s deflected cross.

Bellingham has really adapted to the international scene. Although he has just four goals and five assists to his name in 30 caps, six of those direct involvements (3g/3a) have come in his last five outings.

But that wasn’t the only impressive statistic Bellingham threw up on the night, with Opta revealing some amazing facts about the former Birmingham City youngster:

• Bellingham (World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024) became only the second player to score in both the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, joining compatriot and former Liverpool striker Michael Owen (Cup World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000).
• Bellingham also became the first player to score for England at both the World Cup and the European Championship while playing club football outside of England.
• With goals on Sunday and against Iran at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Bellingham is only the fifth player to score England’s opening goal at two different major tournaments, after Bobby Charlton, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Bryan Robson.

Bellingham is receiving widespread praise for Serbia’s performance

Of course, Bellingham’s outstanding performance against Serbia – which also saw him record a 96% pass rate and win nine of his 15 ground duels – saw him heap praise on his side in the England camp.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” England captain Harry Kane said, adding: “The confidence he plays with and the way he affects games – it’s important for players who play in his position to get goals and assists and that’s what he’s doing.”

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said (via BBC Sport): “He seems to be writing his own scripts. He welcomes the attention and keeps on giving.

“He had some outstanding moments in the game and equally the two wide players and the central midfielder worked well around him.”

England continue their Group C campaign against Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday, while Serbia travel to Munich to face Slovenia.