Jude Bellingham - the England World Cup hero whose meteoric rise to super stardom began at Portsmouth's Fratton Park in Carabao Cup defeat with Birmingham
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His opener in the Three Lions’ 6-2 demolition of Iran in Qatar – the midfielder’s maiden goal for his country – made him the first player born after 2000 to score at the championships.
The Stourbridge-born also became only the second teenager to score for England at a World Cup finals, following in the footsteps of Michael Owen.
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Hide AdAnd all that after becoming the most expensive 17-year-old in history when he joined Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund for £22.5m from Birmingham in 2020.
That move, which has recently also seen him become the youngest German top-flight captain ever, has sparked a meteoric rise to super stardom and being a player coveted by all of the planet’s best club sides.
But it’s at Fratton Park where Bellingham’s blistering journey began.
Indeed, that’s where the now 18-capped England international made his senior football debut – for Birmingham, on August 6, 2019, in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
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Hide AdAged just 16 years and 38 days, the then youngster became Brum’s youngest ever player, breaking the record set by Trevor Francis in 1970.
But it’s a far cry to what he experienced at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha today, with Bellingham and his Birmingham team-mates suffering a 3-0 cup exit at the hands of Kenny Jackett’s then side that night.
The midfielder was also substituted by manager Pep Clotet on 81 minutes, shortly after he picked up a yellow card for a bad foul on Ellis Harrison, who bagged two of the Blues’ goals.
Bellingham, however, has clearly put a tough night against the likes of Andy Cannon, Tom Naylor and Ben Close firmly behind him.
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Hide AdHe’s currently rated at around the £125m mark for any club looking to sign him either in January or in the summer.
But if he continues to lead by example in the Three Lions engine room over the next couple of weeks in Qatar, £125m will seem a bargain for a player whose first appearance in senior football was at Fratton Park.