Jude Bellingham was one of the five players chosen to unveil England’s kit for the upcoming World Cup in North America, alongside captain Harry Kane, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford, and No 1 Jordan Pickford.
The strip was announced to great fanfare on Friday afternoon, just hours after Thomas Tuchel named his final squad for the last international break before travelling Stateside.
The design is cleaner and more simple than in recent years, featuring a trimmed blue collar with a contrasting fabric triangle and red slashes on the sides, but little else to adorn the Nike shirt other than England’s badge.
The away kit is similarly classic – the same design in red, but with the badge in the centre of the shirt – with creativity saved for Pickford’s goalkeeping kit which appears to feature a wave motif.
The video was accompanied by a poem written for the occasion, paying tribute to ‘this little place that we call home.’
‘A patch of green in a restless sea,’ the voiceover intoned. ‘Rain-slicked, pub-lit, built from coal dust and red brick. From corner shops to Sunday roasts, to faded piers and salted coasts.
Jude Bellingham was front and centre for England’s launch of their World Cup kit on Friday
Alongside the Real Madrid star were Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, and Elliot Anderson in the launch video
‘For this beautiful game brings home… When our Three Lions come together, it’s a brotherhood of grace and charm.
‘We dance like nobody’s watching, under those summer skies, arm in arm. Let’s swap the rock of shores with silver screens. This land of ours creates Hollywood dreams.
‘So stick that pony in your pocket, and fetch the suitcase from the van. Can the Jules Rimet come home again? To England, to this green and pleasant land.’
Inspired by classic hymn Jerusalem as much as unavoidable anthem Three Lions by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner, and The Lightning Seeds, the stirring verse was set to images of fans wearing the kit, as well as the players set to contest the tournament in June.
Bellingham’s inclusion in the cohort not only speaks to his status as one of the team’s superstars, but his impressive arc under Tuchel since the German’s appointment in 2024.
The Real Madrid midfielder found himself under scrutiny when Tuchel admitted that his own mother was ‘repulsed’ by Bellingham’s on-field demeanour last June.
Although injury saw him passed over for one subsequent call-up, Bellingham was then pointedly omitted from the camp last autumn.
Tuchel then picked Bellingham in November, but issued him a warning over his behavioural standards after the player appeared unhappy with his substitution during England’s 2-0 victory over Albania.
‘I saw that he was not happy,’ said the England boss. ‘I have to review it.
‘To a certain degree, if you have players like Jude who are so competitive, they will never like it. But my word stands – we are about standards and a level of commitment to each other and respect to each other. So if someone is waiting outside, we will not change our decision just because someone is waving with their arms.
‘I don’t want to make more out of it, but I stick to my words, “behaviour is key” and respect towards the team-mates who come in. Decisions are made and you have to accept it as a player.
The video was set to an elaborate poem which was inspired by both Jerusalem and 1996 anthem Three Lions
Bellingham is currently in the thick of recovering from a hamstring injury, but has been included in the latest squad regardless
‘That is the decision and he has to accept the decision. His friend is waiting on the sideline. You need to accept it and respect it and keep on going. Jude was also on a yellow card and we made the decision before the second goal. The decision stands.’
Tuchel called up Bellingham yet again on Friday despite the star in the thick of recovery from a hamstring injury.
‘I wanted Jude to be in camp, Jude wanted to be in camp, and Real Madrid is happy for him to come because we can provide team training for him,’ Tuchel explained. ‘We can provide that, so all boxes are ticked.
‘We will continue his progress in integration into team training. We will be very careful and not take any risk with Jude to avoid reinjury. It’s a very rare injury for him, so he’s not experienced in it. The best-case scenario is that he gets some minutes against Japan, and then we will adapt day by day.’
