After a dull 0 0 draw, he said I wasn't worthy. Four days later, Bellingham silenced him with a volley in the pouring rain.

A goalless 0-0 draw with Ghana marked England's 13th blank scoreline in World Cup history. The scoreboard was lifeless, yet the official Man of the Match award was forced into Jude Bellingham's arms.

He didn't accept the favor. "Honestly, I don't deserve this award," he said quietly into the camera. "It should go to a Ghanaian player, to their goalkeeper Benjamin Asare."

An attacking midfielder with no goals, no assists, substituted by Morgan Rogers in the 73rd minute, awarded Man of the Match after a goalless draw, then personally pushed the trophy away. Anyone else would have muttered a "thank you to the judges" and called it a day. Not Bellingham.

The tension from that night in Boston didn't even wait for the post-match interview. Just before halftime, Bellingham fouled Jerome Opoku near the Ghana bench and gave him a shove. Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz immediately lost his temper. After the whistle, the two squared up in the tunnel; Bellingham was held back by Rogers, while Queiroz was restrained by his own players. Queiroz later told microphones that Bellingham had used "unrepeatable" profanity. The Telegraph splashed "Foul-mouthed clash" across its front page. Thomas Tuchel quickly defended his player, calling it "a stupid tackle, a stupid reaction."

Bellingham himself was honest, dubbing the match "second-game syndrome."

Four days later, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, heavy rain.

Over 80,000 fans in raincoats watched England struggle for 60 minutes against Panama's five-man defensive wall. The midfield was congested; England's possession spread wide but couldn't penetrate. Bellingham had had enough. He stopped waiting like a VIP on the edge of the box and instead charged into the six-yard box to battle the center-backs.

In the 62nd minute, Bukayo Saka sent a corner into the box. Bellingham was almost dragged down by Panama defender Jorge Gutierrez, who grabbed and held him. He fought through the contact, got half a step ahead, and volleyed the ball into the net. Five minutes later, he picked up the ball on the right, looked up, and delivered a cross that Harry Kane easily tapped in.

That goal made Kane England's all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11 goals, surpassing Gary Lineker's record of 10 from two tournaments. But the broadcast cameras didn't linger on the captain. They were fixed on the 22-year-old midfielder soaked through by the rain.

Another Man of the Match award. This time, Bellingham didn't refuse.

After three group-stage matches, England topped Group L with seven points. From a 4-2 opening win over Croatia to a Round of 16 clash against hosts Mexico, Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds, silencing 80,000 home fans at the Azteca Stadium. Then, in the quarterfinal against Norway, he headed the ball into the net in the third minute of extra time.

From that goalless draw in Boston to the 98-second double in Mexico City, only twelve days had passed. The young man who squared up to an old coach in the tunnel and said he "didn't deserve" the award had firmly grasped the Three Lions' fate in his own hands.