Stan Collymore praised Jude Bellingham after the teenager put in a commanding display in England’s World Cup opener with Iran.
Jude Bellingham is making a mark in European football, and he put in yet another commanding performance. The 19-year-old scored England’s first goal in the 6-2 routing of Iran to open their World Cup campaign, and naturally, many sections are praising his display.
Bukayo Saka scored twice, while goals from Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, and Jack Grealish sealed the victory for the Three Lions. Mehdi Taremi scored twice for the Iranians, but it wasn’t enough to get anything out of the game. While the performance was all-round, Bellingham saw special praise reserved for him by Stan Collymore.
The former Liverpool player on CaughtOffside insisted the 19-year-old Liverpool-linked star is a world-class talent and will command for the next decade or so.
Collymore said, “Firstly, Jude Bellingham – what an incredible player!
“If he doesn’t go on to be a world-class talent in the next 10 years, then I have never seen one. He needs to keep injury-free, of course, and it depends on where he moves after Dortmund, but a fantastic midfield performance. He kept the ball, kept it moving, and got his goal.”
Collymore later went on to talk about England’s performance and how they might have to perform even better against better opposition.
He continued, “The opposition were poor. I thought they [Iran] were only just a step up from Qatar, but they scored two goals against England.
“Against better opposition, whether that be Wales or whether that be the United States, the second phase and then the stages beyond that, we need to be careful in our box.
“We really do need to turn the screw a little bit and make sure that we start to keep clean sheets moving forward.”
Bellingham is one of the players every top club have their eyes on. The prodigious talent is expected to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer and will likely command a huge fee in return. The German side will hope he has a fantastic World Cup, which may help them raise their demands.
Bellingham remains heavily linked with Liverpool, among other sides. Performances like these will certainly let the suitors stand up and notice. The midfielder seems highly confident and motivated to continue performing at the highest level.
