Bellingham & Musiala grew up as U21 friends but could go on to have rivalry

JUDE BELLINGHAM and Jamal Musiala are stand-out global ­talents.

The whole world of football is watching them at this tournament and asking the same questions of them both: can they sustain this and end up building careers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi?

That’s how good they both are and they are starting to confirm as much with the starts they have made at these Euros — even though Musiala is 21 and Bellingham just 20.

The two of them are friends who played together for England’s age-group teams, up until the Under-21s.

But luckily for us Germans, ­Musiala — who was born in Germany but spent most of his childhood in England — chose to play for us.

When a player like him chooses you, it’s like winning the lottery.

But don’t be greedy — you have Bellingham and he is exceptional.

That goal he scored against Serbia on Sunday just made me go ‘wow!’Bellingham is so physically strong.

When scoring that goal, he went in there and said, ‘Even if I clash heads and get hurt, I don’t care’.

He went in with all his power — he has such courage and confidence.

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He was saying, ‘I believe in my own physical presence. I don’t care if I go up against a big central defender and get an elbow in my face’.

He just said, ‘This is my ball, I’m going to score’.

That mentality is really crucial in a tournament because it’s contagious to your team-mates.

They will say, ‘He went in there when it really could have hurt — if there’s a 50-50 ball I am going to go in there and smash it as well’.

It’s unusual to have exceptional ­talent and great physicality but Jude has both.

Often, you have an exceptionally talented player and, as team-mates, you have to protect him because they are physically not the strongest.

But Jude doesn’t need to pull back if he’s clashing with a tough No 6 or whoever. He is very complete.

Bellingham’s physical presence is greater than Bayern Munich star Musiala, who is lighter and a bit of a different player.

Both of them, though, can leave opposition teams already beaten in their own minds before the game starts.

Within a team you need that feeling of having somebody capable of doing something special out of nothing — and both Bellingham and Musiala can score goals, get assists or win penalties and create something from nowhere.

It’s a mental advantage you create. The opposition look over at these players in the warm-up and there’s a real fear.

They can talk about trying to close them down — but can they really do it for 90 minutes?

Jude’s growth since moving to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund last summer has been ­exceptional because his team-mates recognise how calm he is in front of goal.

They know if you put him in a goalscoring position, there’s a high probability he will score.

Real’s players have the class, technique and vision to get him in those positions.

But for him to go there and play so freely and with so much joy is amazing, for such a young kid, at such a big club — and in a country where he doesn’t speak the language yet.

He takes that confidence into the England side and they also have the quality to provide for him. It’s similar for Musiala.

I was in Munich to watch Germany’s 5-1 win over Scotland.

While the Scots helped by having such a bad day at the office, it was a night when I really felt the German team reconnected with the nation. It was crucial that they started the tournament so well.

The Scottish fans made a lot of noise but after it was 2-0, they were quiet and you could only hear the Germans.

Tomorrow, Germany play Hungary, who are dangerous when they’re underdogs — they are always giving us trouble... and England, too.

They are unpredictable, physical and good on the counter-attack.

But I am more confident about Germany after such a great performance and result against Scotland.

I loved watching Musiala and ­Florian Wirtz really enjoying themselves in forward areas and both scoring early on.

At their ages — Wirtz is also 21 — they can play without their heads being too full of tactics or pressure.

When Musiala chose Germany over England, it was important.

Recruitment is so much part of international management in this global society when so many young players have dual citizenship.

During my six years as head coach of the United States, we were fighting the Mexicans for so many kids who could have played for either country.

My own son, Jonathan, is a goalkeeper who has played for the United States up to Under-23 level.

These kids often feel more of a pull towards the country they have spent more time in.

My son feels more Californian than German but he’s just moved to Cesena in Italy and, who knows, one day Germany could come calling for him.

Musiala may go to the Premier League one day and may feel more English — but we’ve got him locked in for Germany now!

I want to see Bellingham and Musiala continuing to put their stamp on this tournament.

Major tournaments don’t come around often and this is when you can write history.

I admire both kids for keeping their feet on the ground and dedicating themselves to football when they have so much attention.
In the social media age, this really isn’t easy.

Both England and Germany are footballing powerhouses with the same ambition — to win the tournament — and perhaps we can meet in the final.