England’s Jude Bellingham has revealed that he was motivated to “get back to my best” in their 3-1 friendly win against Scotland.
Bellingham was just one of five players to retain their places in the starting line-up following a sloppy performance in their 1-1 draw away to Ukraine last weekend, which nevertheless kept them top and unbeaten in their UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying group.
“I wasn’t happy with how I played against Ukraine, I showed a level that probably wasn’t anywhere near my best and the motivation is to always get back to my best and I think that was close to it tonight,” reflected Bellingham on his ‘Man of the Match’ performance with one goal and assist.
The 20 year-old added that he felt that the Auld Enemy rivalry added extra motivation as he explained: “I knew tonight was more than a friendly game, it means too much to the fans, with bragging rights and all those sorts of things.
“I knew I wanted to be near to my best tonight so the England fans could go home happy.”
Throughout the match, Bellingham proved a troublesome player for Scotland’s defence which he felt was an improvement on his performance against Ukraine, as he said: “I think I was involved in a lot of the good play, just for a longer period of time.
“I probably could have been involved a little bit more [on Saturday] and that’s on me to try and get myself involved and try to be a match-winner.
“Clearly I couldn’t do that at the weekend but the last two days that’s really driven me to try to perform better. I’ve managed to do that and now it’s about continuing it. ”
Having played in a 4-3-3 system away to Ukraine, Bellingham instead played as the central attacking midfielder in a 4-3-2-1 formation in Glasgow, which he felt was “probably close” to his best role.
The Real Madrid midfielder went on to describe that position as “a freedom role” as he pointed to his club performances, in which he explained: “If you look at my performances in Madrid so far, they are ones that are quite complete because I get given the freedom by the amazing team-mates, coaching staff and manager that I’ve got.
“They allow me to go all over the pitch, to help with build-up, to be in the box and finish the chances and to create as well. I think I can do all that pretty well, I can still do it a lot better and that’s what I’m trying to prove.”
Bellingham is also aware of his more experienced “amazing” teammates and iterated that manager – Gareth Southgate shouldn’t build the team around him, instead wanting to see the best players accommodated and allowed “to get the best out of,” in terms of their performance.
With the Euros just nine months away, Bellingham issued a warning to Southgate about his tactical plans as he explained: “The team has to come first always and I try to do my best to slot in and do whatever the gaffer wants from me.”
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