Bellingham reaches new level as England demolishes Croatia 7-0

A year ago, Jude Bellingham's future in an England shirt looked uncertain. Thomas Tuchel had left him out of the squad in October 2025, and there was genuine doubt about whether he would even make the World Cup roster. The new manager had made clear that Bellingham would receive no special treatment, that his place would have to be earned like anyone else's. But he did make the squad. He went to the tournament and became England's standout performer, finishing as the team's leading scorer with seven goals as the side reached the semi-finals and claimed third place overall.

On Saturday in Rijeka, Bellingham showed what a year of that trajectory looks like when it reaches full expression. England dismantled Croatia 7-0 in a Nations League match, and Bellingham was at the center of it—not just as a scorer, though he did find the net, but as the architect of the demolition. He provided three assists, a feat no England player had managed since Trent Alexander-Arnold against San Marino in November 2021. When Kane was rested with twenty minutes remaining, Bellingham took the captain's armband, a gesture that underscored his standing within the squad. At twenty-three, he had moved beyond being a talented young player into something more: a leader, a player whose presence on the pitch seemed to elevate everyone around him.

The reaction from those who know the game was swift and unequivocal. Roy Keane, speaking on ITV after the match, said Bellingham had the potential to become one of football's greatest players of all time. It was not hyperbole dressed up as analysis. Keane pointed to the completeness of what Bellingham offers—his running power, his delivery, his ability to score—but also to something harder to quantify: his work rate when the ball was not at his feet, the way his intensity and intelligence seemed to lift the players around him. Matt Upson, a former England defender, told BBC Radio 5 Live that Bellingham was now "nailed on as the 10" for England's future, the position that typically goes to a team's creative heartbeat. Ian Wright, the former striker, marveled at Bellingham's athleticism and technical ability, his refusal to let up, the way he seemed to appear unmarked in the box again and again.

Bellingham had already been voted England's player of the year for the second year running. He was performing at the highest level for Real Madrid. But what happened against Croatia suggested something had shifted—that he was not just a world-class player but one who was still ascending, still finding new dimensions to his game. Tuchel, when asked if Bellingham had reached another level, said yes, and then offered a warning that applied to Bellingham as much as to any player: "You can never stand still. You have to develop and you have to push for the next level, otherwise other teams will catch up."

The victory itself was comprehensive. Harry Kane, at thirty-three, scored twice and moved to eighty-nine international goals, demonstrating once again why he remains irreplaceable for England. Bukayo Saka also scored twice, with Anthony Gordon adding another goal and an assist. But it was Bellingham's performance that seemed to capture something about where England stood and where it might go. Saka, who benefited from one of Bellingham's assists, called him special and said he deserved both player of the year and man of the match. Kane will have a chance to equal Peter Shilton's all-time appearance record on Tuesday against the Czech Republic at Wembley, but the conversation after Rijeka was not about Kane's milestone. It was about a twenty-three-year-old midfielder who, a year after his place in the squad was in question, had begun to look like something England had not had in a generation.