Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham in Spain’s sights for Euro 2024 final

Martin Rogers

FOX Sports Insider

BERLIN — Harry Kane is England’s top scorer, Bukayo Saka is the most effective creator at Euro 2024, Phil Foden is on fire and Kobi Mainu is thriving in midfield, but there’s one player Spain will be watching closely in Sunday’s final (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham comes into the tournament after a superb season with Real Madrid, in which he was named La Liga Player of the Year. It is great to see England sign a player of that calibre, but he is a bigger star in Spain than at home.

His face was on the front pages of Spanish newspapers this week, raising questions about whether fatigue from a long season in Madrid had contributed to this summer’s mixed results and, above all, the sense that keeping Bellingham quiet was the first step towards Spain’s success on the Olympic pitch.

“He is a footballer I really like,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told a press conference. “He has qualities that really appeal to me. He is a strong player with a good balance between technical quality and strength.

“He also has agility and elegance. He has these qualities and he scores goals. He is a natural talent that is becoming very important. Aesthetically, he is very pleasing to watch.”

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Bellingham’s first season in Madrid was a remarkable one in terms of effectiveness. Playing a higher role than at his former club Borussia Dortmund, he found his goalscoring form, netting 23 goals in all competitions as Real won La Liga and the Champions League twice.

In that sense, the average Spanish fan may have seen more of him than the average English fan. At 17, he left his hometown club Birmingham City for Borussia Dortmund and never played in the English Premier League.

Bellingham loves big occasions, but above all else, he embraces the need to be a player who makes things happen. Big games, finals, are often decided by the moment. His ability to step up when it matters for Madrid is one of the reasons Spain see him as their biggest obstacle in their bid to win a fourth European Championship.

“I know Jude very well,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told a news conference. “In fact, one of the first votes I had to take part in after taking charge of the national team almost two years ago was for the best player in Europe. Jude was still playing in Germany and was much less well-known to the public. I put him in second place.”

(Related: Harry Kane ‘would change everything’ to win Euro 2024 final with England)

Bellingham’s best moments during Euro 2024 were not matched by the overall consistency he has shown during domestic competition. His and Premier League Player of the Year Phil Foden’s cohesion has been inconsistent, and the overall brand of English football has felt slow and dull at times.

However, he scored the only goal in the opening 1-0 win over Serbia and then scored a goal against Slovakia that will instantly go down in English football history.

With his team trailing 0-1 with stoppage time running out, the 21-year-old delivered a stunning bicycle kick to send the game into extra time, before Kane headed home the winner.

“Who else?” he shouted, a phrase that was immediately translated and circulated in the Spanish press.

Some players are just made for a special challenge and with England looking to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, there is no greater challenge.

Southgate said Bellingham “writes his own script” and how much he would like to see another script written here as England chase history.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Rogers Fox.

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