By Miftaudeen Raji 

English professional footballer and Borussia Dortmund midfielder, Jude Bellingham has made a case for a bigger stage in the English national team following his impressive performance against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.

The Champions League performance saw a bigger side of Jude Bellingham performance. That must be on Gareth Southgate’s mind ahead of the World Cup.

Mature beyond his years, the clamour for a more important role for Bellingham within the England set up looks set only to get louder as Qatar approaches. 

The debate is now not whether he’s on the plane, it’s whether you can leave him out of England’s first game on November 21 vs Iran. 

Southgate has already seen his talents up close when deployed in an aggressive midfield role that supported the strikers.

He was man of the match after an excellent showing when playing the full friendly with Ivory Coast earlier this year before bossing the midfield after replacing Kalvin Phillips – who played just four minutes from the bench in this clash – against Germany in the Nations League over the summer.

Inexperience is not a valid argument anymore. Bellingham already has a full Championship season and almost three Bundesliga campaigns under his belt, not to mention his 18 Champions League appearances and four goals in the competition. 

Yet again, he was Dortmund’s most potent and creative player against a City midfield that usually eats up 19-year-old’s for fun. 

The England man had already drawn Rodri into a booking having burst past him in midfield on 53 minutes before showing his eye for goal is developing with every minute he plays. 

His reading of the situation to beat the City defenders to Marco Reus’ cross was very Frank Lampard-like. The way he moves with the ball is very Steven Gerrard-like.

The days of debating whether Lampard and Gerrard can play together are gone. But England may have found someone who combines the skills of both of those former greats.

Can you squeeze him in somewhere? Heck, England should be building their midfield around him.