England’s youngest player may already be one of their most mature

Not much seems to phase Jude Bellingham - even being an England record-breaker on his first-ever appearance at a tournament.

In coming off the bench against Croatia on Sunday, at 17 years and 349 days, he became the youngest player in European Championship history.

Not bad for a player who was plying his trade in the Championship with Birmingham City a year ago.

It has been a whirlwind year for Bellingham and following an outstanding first season with Borussia Dortmund after his summer transfer, a place in Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for this tournament was more than warranted.

Now it's just about taking things in his stride, even as each step up becomes bigger and bigger.

"It's not bad, to be fair, it's a good record," he said after making his major tournament bow. "When you just set your mind on something and you just try and follow it through and manage to do it so buzzing with that, to be fair.

"I just never thought I'd be here, really. If it was when it was supposed to take place last summer, I would have been nowhere near it obviously.

"But I think I've just had a good season, kept my head down and things have kind of just come one after another and I've managed to get here.

"I'm just trying to represent my country well and my family and that."

Bellingham's introduction for Harry Kane late on at Wembley helped see out a comfortable and important first victory for the Three Lions.

Most teenagers would be overawed being thrown into such a situation but not Bellingham who is very much not most teenagers.

It is that tenacity beyond his years that has impressed Southgate the most in his introduction into international football, something the great Luka Modric soon found out when they met in the middle of the park.

"I got a bang to the head as well that really hurt but I was just trying to do my job," he added. "I was thinking 'don't you dare let them get back in the game while you're on the pitch' so every ball that was there to be won, I just tried to go through it and get it back for us.

"(Modric) was probably the highlight for them, he had a really good game. You're watching him from the sideline thinking 'how would I approach it coming against him?'

"In a minute, you're against him and you kind of just have to work it out as you're on the job. I thought I'd done alright so I've just to keep it going."

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The £20m Dortmund paid for Bellingham a year ago already looks a snip with clubs all over Europe surely looking back with regret at not pulling the trigger themselves.

The Bundesliga side have an exceptional reputation for bringing young players through the ranks and Bellingham says it was a simple choice to make even with the likes of Manchester United also keen.

"To be fair, it was a decision that was quite easy in the end," he added. "I think if you look at Dortmund's track record with young players and the way they develop them, it was the obvious answer.

"Obviously at the time it's hard to see it like that because you've got so many other options: to stay at Birmingham, etc. But my strength of character I'd probably say it comes from my parents and stuff.

"In terms of the decision I made, I had all their support throughout the whole way so I was quite comfortable in making it."

As with everything else to do with his record-breaking career up to this point, he got it right.