It’s one thing for a young player to have a big impact on a tournament as a forward or a wide player, but for Jude Bellingham to do what he's doing in central midfield, where people talk about games being won and lost, is incredible.
Has he exceeded expectations? If you've watched him playing like this consistently for Borussia Dortmund, then I'm not even sure he has! But when you put into perspective how young he is, at 19, and that this is his first time playing a proper starting role at a major tournament, then seeing him go about it quite this well probably has been a bit surprising.
Against Senegal, Jude was a massive part of getting England going after that slow start, driving us forward. The way he carries the ball, I don't think I've seen many England players with that ability ever, let alone at such a young age. His physicality allows him to get box-to-box and he's got such good game-understanding that he's able to play across all positions in midfield, which is what has got people talking about him as a unique talent.
When you're younger, you play everywhere, but then, as you develop, you tend to specialise more. When I was in the England age-groups, I played on the wing, No4, No8, No10, centre-half. Even when I first went to Manchester City, I was seen as a No8 or No10, but the manager tried me in the deeper role and I just felt comfortable there. From the age of about 17, I was moulded into that position and, even now, when Sarina Wiegman occasionally puts me further forward for England, it does feel a little unfamiliar.
Jude, though, seems to be able to do everything. He makes the right decision all the time, not just in possession, but without it as well. To be able to play that role, with the responsibility of attacking and defending, at his age, at a World Cup, with all eyes on him, when everyone's already talking about him as one of England's main players, is remarkable and he's handling it all so well.
Still, in my opinion, he's at his best when he's breaking forward, when he's making third-man runs, getting into the box and scoring or assisting. Speaking as a holding midfield player, when you play against a typical No10 who is looking for pockets of space, like Antoine Griezmann will be for France tomorrow. It's tough, but it's also the kind of thing you come up against every week.
With a player like Bellingham, it's a bit different. You don't want to be running 40 yards towards your own goal chasing him when he goes past and when the game's going on all around you; the last thing you want is someone making those late surges into the box. I just think he'd be an absolute nightmare to play against.
Having Jordan Henderson in there has clearly been really important in guiding Jude and giving him that freedom, and it goes to show how important it is in international football to find players that naturally work well together, because you haven't got that time on the training pitch to get things to click.
Going into the Euros in the summer, we trialled a few things, pushing Leah Williamson into midfield, but Sarina found the best balance and formula for the team and we went on to win the tournament. Hopefully, Gareth Southgate's now done the same!
There's a lot of talk about how good Jude could become but, for me, on what we've seen at this tournament, he's already up there with the best midfielders in the world. There aren't many who could do what he's doing at a World Cup.
At the same time, I feel like we've not even seen the best of him yet. We could have a future Ballon d'Or winner on our hands — and against this France team he can really shine.
