The “Bellingham burst” has a certain ring to it. With almost half an hour played Wembley had shown its first signs of descending into an unnervingly familiar tetchiness, a groundswell of dissatisfaction brewing as England’s defenders passed the ball in front of a static midfield. Italy had begun as if resigned to be bullied but now, a goal up and with palpable wind in their sails, they appeared to have Gareth Southgate’s players where they wanted them. This Azzurri side are a pale imitation of many that have gone before but they had lured their hosts into the kind of slow, vacant buildup from which little good usually comes.
Fortunately for England, Jude Bellingham’s involvement brings with it near-guaranteed excellence. Almost immediately it was Bellingham who, at the end of a run that decimated Italy’s engine room and pierced the heart of their defence, strained every sinew to get toe on ball ahead of a lunging Giovanni Di Lorenzo and earn the penalty that teed up an altogether more uplifting remainder. It was the kind of game-breaking gambit Bryan Robson would look fondly upon and, marvellously, it would not be his last. England will compete at Euro 2024, as if there had ever been too much doubt about that, and on an evening of fits and starts their setup showed enough to suggest it will coax exhilarating things from Real Madrid’s newest superstar when tournament mode clicks in.
