Jude Bellingham continues stunning season by breaking Michael Owen’s record to become the youngest EVER England star at a major tournament and the youngest player to feature at a European championships
- The teenager replaced Harry Kane against Croatia aged 17 years and 349 days
- The midfielder breaks Michael Owen’s longstanding mark at a major tournament
- Marcus Rashford was the previous youngest England player ever at the Euros
- Jetro Willems had previously been the youngest Euros player from any nation
- It is the latest record Bellingham has broken after a stunning season at club level
- He became the youngest English player in Champions League history in October
Jude Bellingham has hit yet another milestone in a dazzling early career after becoming the youngest-ever player to appear for England at a major tournament.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder (17 years and 349 days) came on for captain Harry Kane with eight minutes of normal time remaining against Croatia, in the process shattering the record previously held by Michael Owen (18 years and 183 days when he featured against Tunisia at the 1998 World Cup).
The youngest player ever to appear for England at the Euros before Bellingham’s appearance at Wembley was Marcus Rashford, who made his major international tournament debut in the pivotal Euro 2016 group-stage game against Wales at the age of 18 years and 228 days.
Jude Bellingham came on with eight minutes of normal time left to make England history
Michael Owen became England’s previous youngest player at any major tournament in 1998
Marcus Rashford was the previous youngest Three Lions player to play at the Euros
Bellingham could be playing on his 18th birthday on 29 June if England manage to win Group D
To top things off, Bellingham is also the youngest player to ever appear at the Euros for any nation, breaking Jetro Willems’ record set at the 2012 tournament when the former Newcastle left back was just 18 years and 71 days.
During Bellingham’s brief spell on the field, he almost had to go off himself after a clash of heads with Domagoj Vida, but after a head injury assessment, the Birmingham academy product was allowed to continue.
Bellingham’s 18th birthday is on 29 June – the day England will face the runners-up of Group F if they win Group D.
The teenager now has 51 appearances under his belt for club and country after a campaign in which he helped Dortmund finish third and therefore secure qualification for next season’s Champions League after it had looked for a while like it might not happen.
Bellingham had already became the youngest-ever English player to start in Europe’s elite club competition (at 17 years and 113 days against Lazio last October) and the youngest English player to score in the competition (at 17 years and 289 days against Manchester City in April), as well as being voted the Bundesliga Newcomer of the Year last week.
However, his record of being the youngest-ever player at the Euros may not last long.
The midfielder became the youngest-ever player to appear in the Champions League
The teenager is also the youngest Englishman to have scored in Europe’s top club competition
Kacper Kozlowski will steal Bellingham’s crown if he features for Poland against Slovakia
Kacper Kozlowski could feature for Poland against Slovakia on Monday and therefore take Bellingham’s crown. The midfielder is 17 years and 240 days.
Reacting to Bellingham’s achievement, Franklin Leonard tweeted: ‘Jude Bellingham was born the week the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out.’
Football website Goal pointed out that 37-year-old Goran Pandev, who captains tournament outsiders North Macedonia, made his international debut two years before Bellingham was born.