Jude-fever. Bellingham-mania. No one has come up with a catchy name for it yet, but it’s happening. A London train stop called Bellingham station has been renamed “Jude Bellingham”. West Midlands Railway is offering free train rides for anyone named Jude. “Hey Jude” is on the playlist after every England win with “Three Lions” and “Wonderwall”, the only player with his own ballad.
Only a couple of weeks ago, this World Cup felt like it would be Harry Kane’s tournament. It could yet be Kane’s pinnacle at the end of an extraordinary season of 72 goals and counting, a tally bettered only once, by Lionel Messi. If Messi is one of football’s deities, then Kane is the greatest mortal ever to do it. Win the World Cup on Sunday, and he will surely end the year on stage in Paris, wearing a shiny suit and holding a golden orb.
