5Jude Bellingham heads England in front on 13 minutesCredit: Reuters
5Bellingham produced his trademark celebrationCredit: EPA
But now we’re beyond all that. Bellingham is beyond comparison with any other player who has worn the Three Lions in the last half-century.
If you’re old enough to have seen Bobby Charlton or Stanley Matthews then have a chat among yourselves.
But watching Bellingham is more like witnessing Muhammad Ali or Tiger Woods in their pomp.
A man who is so much better than anyone else he is competing with – and with the self-awareness to know it.
If Bellingham didn’t have such swaggering arrogance, he wouldn’t be the game-changer he is.
His thumping early header set up an opening-night victory over Serbia just as his thumping early header had set up a thrashing of Iran in the first match of England’s World Cup campaign in Qatar.
It was a classic centre-forward’s goal. But then Bellingham can be a centre-forward, he can be a No10, he can play on the left, he can play deep. This fella has more guises than Mr Benn.
Still a fortnight shy of his 21st birthday, Bellingham is the on-field leader of Gareth Southgate’s England team.