DOHA, Qatar—He started. He scored. He got serenaded.
All in all, a pretty good World Cup debut for 19-year-old Jude Bellingham.
The England midfielder, who hadn’t even made his professional debut by the time the last World Cup was played four years ago, scored the first goal Monday in a 6-2 victory over Iran at Khalifa International Stadium.
And it was his first goal for England.
“No better place to do it,” said England captain Harry Kane, who was the leading scorer at the tournament four years ago when the team reached the semifinals.
The England fans who made their way to the first World Cup in the Middle East certainly enjoyed it, singing the Beatles classic “Hey Jude” to Bellingham, who is quickly living up to his reputation as one of the most talented youngsters in the game.
Several of Europe’s leading clubs are already positioning themselves for an off-season move with Borussia Dortmund widely expected to be selling. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool are all said to be admirers.
The goal on Monday came from a header that sailed over the opposing goalkeeper in the 35th minute.
“To be honest, I thought it had missed,” Bellingham told the BBC. “Then it took ages to loop into the goal. I said I wanted to score more goals for Dortmund and England this year and to get in the right position. Brilliant ball in from (Luke) Shaw and I was just there to flick it away. Really proud moment for me.”
Bellingham made his professional debut for Birmingham City in 2019 when he was only 16 years old. Europe’s biggest clubs took notice.
THE NETHERLANDS BEAT SENEGAL, 2-0
LOUIS VAN GAAL’S gambles at both ends of the field paid off for the Netherlands.
Up front, Memphis Depay returned from injury as a second-half substitute to help spark the attack into life as the Netherlands scored two late goals to beat Senegal 2-0 Monday at the World Cup.
At the back, Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert pulled off three key saves to keep the African champions at bay after Van Gaal decided to give him his international debut in a key World Cup game and just two months after he was called into the national squad for the first time.
“His quality is he can stop balls and he did that three times today,” the Netherlands coach said, “and he did it perfectly.”
Cody Gakpo and substitute Davy Klaasen provided the late goals to ensure the Dutch team’s winning start at its first World Cup appearance since 2014, when Van Gaal was also coach.
Gakpo rose to glance a header in from a cross by Frenkie de Jong in the 84th minute with the team’s first effort on target. Klaasen added a second right at the end of eight minutes of stoppage time by slotting in after Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy only weakly blocked a shot from Depay.
The orange-shirted Dutch fans had been subdued until the late strikes as Senegal was the more energetic team. The Senegalese drums and chants were the dominant sound from the stands for much of the game.
But Senegal’s main problem was predictable: Without injured forward Sadio Mane, it couldn’t convert any of its chances.
BALE SALVAGES DRAW FOR WALES
THE young United States team was nearing victory in its World Cup return. Then Walker Zimmerman needlessly plowed into Gareth Bale, with the Wales forward’s back to the goal.
Bale converted the resulting penalty kick in the 82nd minute, giving Wales a 1-1 draw Monday that left the Americans feeling frustrated and made their path to the knockout stage more precarious.
“Walking into the locker room after the game, you could see the disappointment of the group,” United States coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Tim Weah, a son of former FIFA Player of the Year and current Liberian President George Weah, had put the Americans ahead after a pass from Christian Pulisic in the 36th minute.
Back in the World Cup after missing the 2018 tournament, the United States appeared headed to victory. But referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim of host Qatar pointed to the penalty spot after Zimmerman took down Bale.
Bale put his kick to the left of goalkeeper Matt Turner’s outstretched arm for his 41st goal in 109 international appearances, salvaging a point for Wales in its first World Cup match since 1958.
“The most important thing was that we didn’t lose,” Weah said. “We kept a tie, and now we just focus on the next game.”
Image credits: AP