"We got a few things wrong off the pitch" — Jude Bellingham's words about Euro 2024 are understated to the point of being generous. England reached a final without ever convincing anyone, including themselves, and now we know the dressing room felt exactly what the rest of us were watching.
Speaking from England's pre-World Cup camp in the United States, Bellingham admitted the squad never truly gelled. "I don't feel the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons," he said. He didn't name those reasons. He didn't need to. Anyone who watched England scrape past Slovakia on a last-gasp overhead kick, grind through a penalty shootout against Switzerland, and survive a semi-final against the Netherlands on a late goal knows what disconnected football looks like.
What makes Bellingham's Slovakia intervention so interesting in hindsight is how he frames it himself. That goal — one of the most dramatic moments in England's tournament history — still makes him "feel a bit uncomfortable." Because he was watching it from the inside, where it wasn't a miracle, it was a near-disaster. "I remember thinking, 'Wow, I'm about to be a part of one of those moments'," he said, referring to the England collapses he watched as a kid. That's a striking admission from the man who actually saved them.
Tuchel's brotherhood project — and what it means for betting on England
New manager Thomas Tuchel has made "brotherhood" the cornerstone of his approach, which reads as a direct response to what Bellingham just described. Whether that cultural shift translates into cohesive football by the World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday is the real question. England's tournament odds are built partly on the assumption that this squad, full of elite individual talent, can finally function as a unit. The evidence from Germany last summer suggests that's not automatic.
Bellingham himself faces a position battle with Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers for the number 10 role — a fight Tuchel has apparently made explicit to both players. The two grew up together in the West Midlands, played junior football together, and by Bellingham's account argue constantly but get on like brothers. Which is convenient, given what Tuchel is trying to build. Bellingham made a strong case for the shirt with a commanding display against Costa Rica in England's final warm-up, but Rogers has clearly earned genuine consideration rather than tokenistic competition.
"I honestly have no ill feelings when he is playing and I'm not playing," Bellingham said. That's either genuine maturity or very good media training. Either way, the competition itself is healthy — exactly the kind of internal pressure that was apparently missing two years ago in Germany.
