Jude Bellingham produced a moment of genius to keep England in Euro 2024, surviving another desperate display and a huge scare to beat Slovakia in dramatic fashion, reaching the last eight.
Bellingham scored an incredible game-tying goal on a bicycle kick in the 95th minute against Slovakia in the Round of 16 of Euro 2024. Less than a minute later, Kane scored the game-winner as England came back to secure a 2-1 win and advance to the quarterfinals.
Slovakia went ahead in the 25th minute thanks to a goal by Ivan Schranz and defended staunchly for 70 minutes. Bellingham’s strike in the fifth minute of added time was England’s first shot on target the entire game.
Not long after the game restarted, Kane gave England the lead with his second goal of Euro 2024. Officially, Kane’s goal came in the 91st minute.
Bellingham’s goal reignited what had been a lackluster tournament for the 21-year-old. Positioned in the No. 10 role in England’s 4-2-3-1 formation behind Kane, Bellingham had struggled to provide a spark in England’s first three games. But the goal demonstrated Bellingham’s quality as a top midfielder and a key player for England.
England manager Gareth Southgate then substituted both Bellingham and Kane for more defensive players ahead of the final 15 minutes of extra time. These cautionary moves led to Slovakia applying pressure in the game’s final minutes. However, England’s defense held firm, setting up a matchup with Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
England’s Struggle to Break Down Slovakia
After Schranz scored, Slovakia anticipated England would control the ball and crowd around the goal. In response, Slovakia positioned two lines of defense in and around the penalty box, forcing England to find a solution.
England thought it had an equalizer in the 50th minute, but Phil Foden’s goal was overruled for offside. Foden was ahead of the last defender when he found himself wide open in front of the net. England celebrated, but a replay review confirmed Foden was offside.
Until Bellingham’s moment of magic, it seemed Euro 2024 might become another chapter in the book of high-profile failures for the men’s national team since it last won a major trophy at the 1966 World Cup.
England entered Euro 2024 as the pre-tournament favorites but underwhelmed in the group stage with five points and two goals in its three group games.
The five points were enough for England to win Group D, positioning them on a manageable side of the knockout-round bracket, with Spain, Germany, France, and Portugal on the other side.
Sunday’s win against a less talented Slovakia team was more of an escape than an indication that England can win Euro 2024. In single-elimination tournaments, sometimes eking out a win is all that’s needed. Thanks to individual brilliance upfront, the Three Lions did just that on Sunday.
