At first glance, Jude Bellingham of the England team and Martin Odegaard of Norway are two completely different types of players.
Real Madrid star, Bellingham, possesses a strong physical foundation, bravery and always knows how to create explosive moments. He himself once revealed his dream of one day playing James Bond.
Meanwhile, Odegaard is a silent "conductor", capable of regulating the match as he wants, controlling the tempo with sophistication and accurate passes. His favorite film is Christopher Nolan's Inception, where the main characters must overcome many layers of dreams to complete a seemingly impossible task. Bringing Norway to the World Cup quarter-finals may also bring Odegaard a similar feeling.
Despite possessing different playing styles, both have gone through a year with many similarities in the role of number 10 of the national team. They have faced no small amount of criticism and skepticism, but are now shining brightly on the biggest stage of world football.
A challenging year
Bellingham's strong return is proof of the 23-year-old midfielder's constantly rising will, and also reflects the human management ability of coach Thomas Tuchel.
Just over a year ago, Tuchel described some of Bellingham's behavior as "repugnant", according to the player's mother. Just four months later, he continued to surprise by eliminating Bellingham from the England national team in the October training camp.
Part of the reason is that he has not achieved good physical condition after shoulder surgery and has only started in one of the first 4 matches of the season. However, the story is much more complicated than that. This decision reflects Tuchel's desire to restore order in the dressing room, and at the same time requires Bellingham to adhere to new principles.
Sources say Tuchel sees rebuilding national team culture as an urgent task. Therefore, he has repeatedly emphasized the "compliance" that Bellingham has been showing recently.
Bellingham entered the World Cup with many doubts about whether he deserved to start instead of Morgan Rogers or not. However, that debate is almost over. 4 goals and one assist helped him significantly share the scoring burden with Harry Kane.
Meanwhile, Odegaard has faced much criticism about his form at Arsenal, leading to speculation that he may leave Emirates this summer, even though his contract is still valid for 2 years. However, the Norwegian midfielder is still very happy in North London after ending his 22-year Premier League title drought with Arsenal.
Odegaard's revival can be calculated from the end of the domestic season. In the match against West Ham United, Arsenal faced the risk of being held to a 0-0 draw in a must-win match. Put on the field from the bench, Odegaard immediately made a difference when he made an assist for Leandro Trossard to score the decisive goal.
Throughout last season, Odegaard regularly called coach Stale Solbakken to update his fitness. The Norwegian team was clearly the one who benefited the most. Except for the performance below par against Iraq, Odegaard had three assists at the 2026 World Cup, only behind Michael Olise (France), Brahim Diaz (Maroc) and Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil).
He is also the player with the most sprints in Norway with 229 times and only behind Sander Berge in total distance traveled (47.542m). The performance in the 2-1 victory over Brazil is considered one of Odegaard's best matches over the past few months.
