The day Brentford faced 16-year-old Jude Bellingham | OneFootball

Were you one of the 1,577 Brentford fans at St Andrew's on 15 February 2020?

If so, you may remember a lively 16-year-old starting at left midfield for Birmingham City that afternoon. His name was Jude Bellingham.

Before Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and a starring role for England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, Bellingham was one of the Sky Bet Championship’s brightest prospects, lining up against the Bees on a stormy afternoon in the West Midlands.

It was midway through his first senior season. He had already become Birmingham's youngest first-team player and youngest goalscorer, but even the most astute supporter in the away end that day could not have predicted what the Blues’ no.22 would go on to do after the 1-1 draw.

Heavy rain and strong winds from Storm Dennis made for difficult conditions, with the Bees firmly in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League.

Birmingham were unbeaten in nine games and started fast. Within six minutes, Bellingham offered an early glimpse of the threat Brentford faced - and many of the leading sides in world football would later encounter.

The youngster, who had already made 29 senior appearances and scored four goals for his boyhood club, cut inside from the left and curled a 20-yard effort beyond David Raya, only for the ball to strike the post and bounce clear.

Henrik Dalsgaard was playing at right-back for Brentford and found himself directly up against him.

Dalsgaard recalls: “What I remember most about that game was the hype around Bellingham… but also how bad the pitch was!

“I didn't know much about him at the time, but there was a lot of talk about him.

“I watched a few clips beforehand, but because he's more of a drifter than a dribbler, he didn't really have any obvious tells.

“The way I remember it, I had pretty good control over him. As we've seen since, though, his best position is more central, whereas he played on the wing that day in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.

“It was definitely his physique that made him stand out as a 16-year-old. Thinking back to where I was at that age, it’s crazy to think he was already physically ready for a league as tough as the Championship.”

“It's always difficult to play against young players because they often have a lot of confidence. You need to try to do something early in the game to stop them getting into a rhythm, because that only boosts their confidence.

“Obviously, it's impossible to know that someone is going to end up at Real Madrid, but his mentality, work ethic and physique gave him a really good foundation to build on.

“It's very impressive that he's continued to develop into a world-class player.”

Birmingham took the lead on 13 minutes. Bellingham’s movement inside helped open the channel for Gary Gardner, whose low cross was dummied by former Brentford striker Scott Hogan and finished by Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Brentford's response came quickly. Emiliano Marcondes’ corner found Ethan Pinnock at the far post, and the centre-back powered in his first goal for the club to make it 1-1.

After the equaliser, Thomas Frank’s side grew into the game. Lee Camp denied Ollie Watkins (who is Bellingham’s England team-mate in North America this summer), Saïd Benrahma and Marcondes, while Brentford also hit the post late on during a scramble in the six-yard box.

At the other end, Birmingham appealed for a late penalty when the ball struck Pinnock’s arm, but referee Stephen Martin waved play on.

The point, earned in awful conditions, formed part of a campaign in which Brentford finished third and reached the play-offs, while Birmingham ended the season 20th in the second tier.

Within months of facing Brentford, Bellingham would leave Birmingham for Dortmund. Three years later, he joined Real Madrid.

His first season in Spain brought a La Liga and Champions League double, along with the La Liga Player of the Season award. He later finished third in the 2024 Ballon d’Or and has since taken his Madrid tally to 44 goals in 137 appearances.

The midfielder's rise with England has been similarly rapid.

His first senior international goal came at the 2022 World Cup, his stoppage-time overhead kick against Slovakia was one of the defining moments for the Three Lions at Euro 2024, and now, at this summer’s World Cup, he has carried that reputation for delivering in the biggest moments into another tournament.

After scoring twice against Mexico in the round of 16 and adding another brace against Norway in the quarter-finals, Bellingham has further underlined his status as one of the world’s leading players.

Next comes a semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday night (8pm kick-off BST).

Exactly 2,342 days after facing Brentford on a sodden Championship pitch at St Andrew's, Bellingham is one victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina away from inspiring England to a World Cup final.