This was supposed to be Jude Bellingham’s big chance. An opportunity to show he’s ready for the World Cup.
Unfortunately, it was also the night when Gareth Southgate asked the teenager and his central midfield partner Declan Rice to do a three-man job. Bellingham did what he could to press his claim for a starting place in England’s team for Qatar.
His workrate and attitude never faltered. If it wore Azzurri blue, it got tackled. But the Brummie who once told a Borussia Dortmund team-mate that he was f*****g s**t” will know this isn’t the form England will want to take into the biggest tournament of all.
