22 reasons Jude’s the Bell of the ball

Ever wondered why precocious teenage talent Jude Bellingham wears the number 22 on his back?

The opening England goalscorer, just 19, is already on course to be one of the stars of the tournament. His shirt choice goes back to the days when he was a kid in the Birmingham City academy.

His then manager Mike Dodds says: “I said to him he could be the complete midfielder. A ball-winning No4, a box-to-box No8 and a creative No10.

“Add them together and I told him he could be a No22. His eyes lit up.”

I will not watch a single game of this World Cup. An ecological aberration with all these air-conditioned stadiums. What madness, what stupidity. – Eric Cantona, the thinking man’s David Beckham

1-0 to ITV for their lead-up to the Wales opener featuring Super Furry Animals singer Gruff Rhys.

The band released Bing Bong in support of the team in the 2016 Euros. Better than BBC’s intro sequence which looks like something a confused 11-year-old would lob on TikTok.