Bellingham’s magic saves England as he says wonder goal is a ‘message’ to critics | UK News

Imagine if Gareth Southgate had gone ahead with his plan to free Jude Bellingham.

Imagine if Bellingham was completely dropped from England’s starting line-up against Slovakia as Southgate faced challenges.

What Bellingham produced – in a mesmerizing moment of magic – is what Real Madrid fans have enjoyed all season.

And that’s why Southgate trusted his judgment and not the clamor for change – even resting Bellingham.

Just a day after his 21st birthday, the overhead kick was Bellingham’s gift to the nation – saving the euros campaign.

After watching from the substitute’s bench, Conor Gallagher said: “Moving like any English fan. Incredible goal, incredible moment.”

Few moments in English history have been as dramatic as a Equalizer at 95 minutes to keep the team in the tournament.

And thanks to Harry KaneHeader from one minute of extra time advances to the quarter-finals.

But if it hadn’t been for Bellingham’s brilliance, they would have been packing their bags – and he felt the weight of responsibility when the ball reached him in the box.

“It’s 30 seconds before you go home, have to listen to all that rubbish, feel like you let a nation down,” Bellingham said.

“And in 30 seconds or with one kick of the ball, everything can change. And it’s a feeling I never want – I don’t like to be in – but when it’s over it’s great.

“So it’s a habit I picked up at Real Madrid. Obviously my game has improved a lot since I arrived and I’m very grateful to be able to bring it to this game.”

Bellingham also scored in the opening match – sealing a 1-0 victory over Serbia, also in Gelsenkirchen – while Kane scored England’s only goal in the 1-1 draw against Denmark.

With England drawn 0-0 with Slovenia in their final group game, the only goals came from Bellingham and Kane.

This means that no player from a Premier League club has unusually scored for England; Kane is now at Bayern Munich and Bellingham with the newly crowned Spanish and European champions.

‘You hear people talking a lot of nonsense’

Playing abroad did nothing to eliminate the hope of ending the Three Lions’ wait for a first trophy since 1966 – or the outcry from critics.

“Playing for England is a nice feeling, but it also involves a lot of pressure,” said Bellingham.

“You hear people talking a lot of rubbish and it’s nice when you deliver. You can give back a little.”

This explains why he appeared shouting “Who else?” during the goal celebration.

“Scoring goals and celebrating is my liberation,” he said. “Maybe it was a message to some people.”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Touch here

Bellingham hopes the adrenaline can carry England to another final, being just a teenager and making brief appearances at Euro 2020.

The pain of penalties in the final defeat to Italy still lingers for England, followed by France’s 2022 World Cup exit in the quarter-finals.

Performances so far in Germany have given little confidence in matching England’s pre-Europe ranking as favorites for the trophy.

“The fans expect a lot from us, regardless of what has happened in recent tournaments,” said Bellingham.

“So people talk a lot and I think you have to take it personally.

“We worked a lot on this game. We go in and train hard every day to try to perform for the fans.

“And sometimes it doesn’t go well and sometimes it feels like there’s a pile up and, yeah, it’s not good to listen to, but you can always use it.

“And in times like this, it’s nice to give that back to some people, I suppose.”

And while England look forward to facing Switzerland, the hope is that the determination that inspires the comeback against Slovakia can be transformative for a team trying to emulate the women’s team by becoming European champions.

“You don’t experience things like this if you don’t have the adversity of the two draws, if you don’t have the adversity of losing 1-0,” Bellingham said. “It’s brilliant because it shows a reaction.”