Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane rallied the Three Lions on as England fought from a goal down to emerge 2-1 victors against Slovakia in the last 16 of the European Championships (Euros) in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, tonight.
After watching holders Italy – who beat England on penalties to win the last Euros – get ousted 24hrs prior to their game, England knew their destiny was in their own hands.
The Three Lions made a good start – relatively better than previous games at the tournament – and Kobbie Mainoo (who was the only change in the starting line-up in place of Connor Gallagher) linked up with Saka inside Slovakia’s half early on, leaving fans at the edge of their seats in excitement.
However, Slovakia slammed the door shut in their faces as that appeared to be the only free-flowing move for England in a drab first half showing.
The constant theme in a jittery first half for England was sluggishness, with awry passes at a premium.
Five minutes before the half hour mark, Slovakia – who sat comfortably throughout the first 20 minutes as England moved the ball with pedestrian pace – nicked in front.
Ivan Schranz found himself goalside of a recovering Marc Guehi, who could only watch on helplessly as the ball flew past Jordan Pickford into the net for the forward’s third goal of the tournament.
The English players – from skipper Harry Kane to Jordan Pickford – were left staring at themselves as if to say, who had to pick him up? who was tracking his run?
Slovakia’s goal deepened the wounds of England, who have mustered a star studded squad to Germany but have failed to work as a cohesive unit thus far.
And half-time could not come soon enough for the Three Lions as (the tournament has it) they put up another insipid display.
The resumption of the second half saw England move the ball about quicker and with purpose, as the clock run down; Foden managed to put the ball at back of the net, but the goal was chalked off after he was marginally offside when the ball was squared into his path by Harry Kane.
The pressure began to mount on Slovakia as the pre-tournament favourites – who looked out of sorts all tournament- seemed to have arrived.
With 10 minutes to go, Declan Rice’s shot from distance canoned off the inside of the post and the follow up was smothered out by Slovakia, who hanged on desperately for the final whistle.
The Slovak’s — who had defended gallantly all game — were undone by a moment of wizardry as Jude Bellingham crept into the box deep in stoppage time to score a spectacular overhead kick and force extra time.
Gelsinkerchen came alive! Over two-thirds of the Veltens Arena was awoken and roared loudly, as the Lions tail was tampered with.
And just a minute into extra time, Kane was left totally unmarked as he glanced Ivan Toney’s flick-on into a gaping goal from a set-piece, causing bedlam amongst the English supporters.
Southgates tweaks – including deploying Saka at left back from the 66th minute, and bringing on Ivan Toney and Eberechie Eze – paid off.
Individual brilliance gives Southgate a life line
When the whistle went for the closure of the game, the most relieved man in Germany was certainly Gareth Southgate.
The headlines had been set, captions and the postmortem of England’s catastrophic collapse on what should have been a hit and never a miss of a tournament was ready to be examined.
How could it possibly have gone wrong? Southgate — who has faced severe scrutiny throughout the tournament — was not ready for what was to come.
But Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane had other ideas. The La liga player of the season and Bundesliga top scorer took responsibility and rose to the occasion for England.
Bellingham, after turning 21 a day before this pulsating game, may have delivered the best gift to English fans and football lovers in a while.
His overhead kick began the comeback as Harry Kane sealed the win with a thumping header to ensure England, for the first time ever, make it to successive quarter-final appearance’s at the European championships.
Bellingham comes up clutch!
England’s midfield star, Bellingham, is expected to shoulder the responsibility and take the team all the way to Berlin’s final showpiece on July 14 and, although he has been a pale shadow of himself in recent games, he came out big and found the decisive touch.
Bellingham’s 96th minute equalizer against Slovakia was the 6th time he had scored a goal after regulation time (90 mins ) for club and country this season.
Definitely, he has had dismal performances – especially in the last two games – but the Real Madrid star showcased his class and made it clear that he does not get swallowed up by the grandest of ocassions.
Bellingham provided Vinicius Jr. with the assist to seal Real Madrid’s 15th Uefa Champions League crown earlier in June, and was once more instrumental for England.
Although he is, undoubtedly, the lead-star in the future generation, his qualities and capabilities are irresistible to overlook him in the present.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
