Columnist Craig Hope says England cannot rely on Jude Bellingham alone to win World Cup

Craig Hope, writing in the Daily Mail, argued that England cannot expect Jude Bellingham to be a single-handed solution to the national team's World Cup ambitions and that the player's emergence has contributed to fraying the collective unity built under Gareth Southgate.

Hope wrote that while Bellingham is England's best player on the pitch, the 22-year-old's personality and the influence of his entourage have created tensions that undermine the wider group. He noted recent results — including a 3-1 defeat by Senegal in June and routine qualifying wins over Albania, Latvia and Andorra — as evidence that England have not operated at the level of a tournament-winning side.

Hope said the issue is not solely about the midfielder's form. He wrote that the squad's cohesion, which he credited to Southgate during the earlier stages of Bellingham's international career, has been weakened as the team has become more of a "patchwork quilt of ego and ability." The columnist described the idea that England "cannot win the World Cup without Jude Bellingham" as both commonly heard and misleading, arguing that England also cannot win the tournament simply by relying on him.

The column addressed comments by incoming manager Thomas Tuchel, who in June described some of Bellingham's on-pitch behaviour as "repulsive." Hope reported that Tuchel later apologised for the remark and suggested the comment had created headlines, but wrote that the initial criticism highlighted a problem that the England manager could have confronted more directly.

Hope also pointed to off-field dynamics, citing reporting by a colleague about Bellingham's father and the player's entourage. He wrote that the group's mistrust of the media has fed into a sense of isolation and inflated the perception that Bellingham must be protected or privileged, a dynamic the columnist said has made the midfielder "more important" in absentia while he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Looking ahead, Hope framed England's qualifying trip to Belgrade as Tuchel's first proper test in charge: a competitive, hostile fixture at the Rajko Mitić Stadium that could reveal more about the manager's ability to build cohesion. He wrote that the game offers a chance for other players to stake a claim in Bellingham's absence, naming Elliot Anderson, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze as possibilities to make an impact.

Hope quoted captain Harry Kane, who said a difficult away match is an opportunity to forge togetherness. "Sometimes, when you get through these types of games together, especially as a newish team, like we are, that's how you build experiences, that's how you build togetherness," Kane said. He added that defending as a team in hostile stadiums can create bonds that are hard to replicate otherwise.

The column argued that if England cannot produce a positive result in such circumstances without Bellingham, then the narrative claiming the team cannot succeed without him will intensify. Hope concluded that Tuchel's larger challenge is finding a way to win a World Cup with Bellingham as part of the group rather than treating him as the sole solution.

The views expressed were those of the columnist and appeared in the Daily Mail. England remain on the path toward qualification for the next World Cup while management and media debate the balance between individual talent and collective cohesion ahead of the tournament.