Jude Bellingham arrives at the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a point to prove. The Real Madrid midfielder who delivered one of Euro 2024's defining moments — a 94th-minute overhead kick to rescue England from elimination against Slovakia — enters the tournament with his international standing no longer taken for granted.

England face Croatia in their World Cup opener in Dallas on Wednesday, and Bellingham is expected to start in the No 10 role behind captain Harry Kane, having edged out Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers in the battle for that position during the pre-tournament build-up.

A complicated two years

Since Bellingham's acrobatics lit up Gelsenkirchen — helping England to a 2-1 extra-time victory before they fell to Spain in the final in Berlin — his path back to being the team's undisputed talisman has been far from smooth.

Shoulder and hamstring injuries disrupted his availability, and head coach Thomas Tuchel's refusal to operate any kind of star system brought further complications. Tuchel left Bellingham out of the squad for the friendly against Wales and the World Cup qualifier away to Latvia last October, despite the player's desire to return. In total, Bellingham has started only nine of the 20 England games played since the Euro 2024 final.

The relationship between the two has not always been straightforward. Tuchel apologised after revealing his own mother had found Bellingham's on-field behaviour