FIFA 2026: England fans count on young hero Jude to ‘make it better’

Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better…

No prizes for guessing, this Beatles number has been the anthem for England fans in all their six matches in this FIFA World Cup so far. Brace yourself for at least one more time in Atalanta tomorrow when they egg on Jude Bellingham, arguably the Three Lions’ most influential man on the pitch (with apologies to captain Harry Kane) in their bid to settle scores with bitter rivals Argentina in the semi-finals on Thursday (12.30 am IST).

The backstory of the song may have been different—as Paul McCartney had written it in 1968 for Julian—John Lennon’s young son as he was fighting the trauma of his parents’ divorce. The fans, of course, see someone in the 23-year-old who can help in ending an agonising 60-year-wait in the garb of a playmaker, leader and the False 9 all rolled into one. No other midfielder has scored six goals in the World Cup finals so far— but the expectations are much bigger than that.

John Terry, a former England captain and stalwart in the heart of defence, likened him to Zinedine Zidane—an endorsement which may heap more pressure on the normally unflappable Jude. Speaking in the FIFA podcast, Terry said: “I said at the start of this World Cup, he reminds me of Zidane. He’s dragging this team through at the moment. I think he’s world class. Also, you listen to him off the pitch, he’s got a real calmness about him as well.”

Gilberto Silva, who won the World Cup in 2002 with Brazil and was then part of a team knocked out by a Zidane-inspired France in 2006, was fully on board with Terry’s description of Bellingham. “In these big matches, that’s when you need your big players to step up and he has shown that over the past two years, before with Real Madrid and now in the World Cup,” he said. “I think there’s a lot more to come from him. He’s in a way similar to Zidane and the comparison JT made with Zidane makes sense.”

While wary of the threat posed by the holders and their captain Lionel Messi, Terry believes the stars are aligning for England this time as they eye a first World Cup triumph since 1966. “I’m not worried about Argentina, if I’m honest,” Terry added. “I don’t look at Argentina and sit here being worried about them being better than us. I think, man-for-man, we’re better than Argentina.

“You know what I like about this England side at the minute? We’ve had big moments. We’ve got a good side but it feels like everything’s going for us. It feels like it’s England’s time,” he said. 

Now in his second World Cup, Jude’s journey from a prodigious 16-year-old who broke into Birmingham City in 2019 to a Real Madrid star has been one of the modern fairytales in top flight football. Moving onto Borussia Dortmund in 2020, he found company in the prolific Erling Haaland and was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season in the 2022-23 season.

The three years at Dortmund, not known as a factory for budding players for nothing, opened the doors for a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. Jude’s debut season at Real had been a stellar one when he scored 23 goals and 13 assists across all competitions and helped the Los Blancos win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

There’s no doubt that FIFA 2026 is seeing the best in him as Jude delivered both the goals in the high stakes quarter final against Norway in the quarters. Should he be able to take the Three Lions to the ultimate prize in football, he will be nothing short of a folk hero—and all that before even turning 25!