Jude Bellingham celebrates the score between England and Croatia (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
England made a strong start to the World Cup this week, defeating Croatia in their first match with a convincing 4-2 win. Jude Bellingham was on the scoresheet, putting England ahead early in the second half with a great move from deep and finishing accordingly.
Although it seemed unlikely that Bellingham would be left out of the England squad completely, there has been much debate over recent months about his place in England’s starting XI. Morgan Rodgers’ form, combined with the impression that Thomas Tuchel was not a big fan of the Real Madrid star, leaves a question mark over his importance. Last year, the German manager publicly apologized for calling Bellingham “disgusting”.
Bellingham calls Ancelotti to win back Tuchel’s trust
Bellingham seems to have realized last year that he was not in Tuchel’s good books and decided to be proactive. Diario AS revealed that Bellingham called former Real Madrid manager and current Brazil national team manager Carlo Ancelotti to ask for advice on the matter. Bellingham wanted to hear Ancelotti’s opinion because of his experience in the game and his relationship with Thomas Tuchel. Whatever Ancelotti said, it seems to have paid off.
Bellingham’s best form was during Ancelotti’s time as manager.
Ancelotti was the manager who led the change in position at Real Madrid, deciding to use him out of the front rather than as the typical central midfielder he had played for Borussia Dortmund. Bellingham has struggled to regain his form after dealing with a shoulder injury and a dysfunctional team around him, but against Croatia he showed some flashes of brilliance from a player who had 23 goals and 12 assists in his first season.
