GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany -- The handful of players in each generation capable of defining major tournaments perform with a ruthless sense of purpose while maintaining freedom of expression.
Jude Bellingham is a long way from moulding Euro 2024 in his own image, but the opening 45 minutes of England's 1-0 win over Serbia was the most exciting evidence yet that, amid widespread hype, he may just be capable of it.
England manager Gareth Southgate summed it up best: "He writes his own script." This was the all-action 20-year-old the Three Lions have been crying out for, the supercharged Real Madrid version who has just spent his debut year in Spain collecting the two biggest prizes available to him by winning LaLiga and the Champions League.