Jude Bellingham revealed how the greatest goal of his career was driven by a determination to silence England’s critics.
The Three Lions were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing Euro 2024 elimination at the hands of Slovakia when Bellingham equalised with a stunning overhead kick with just seconds remaining.
Captain Harry Kane then headed England towards a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday in the second minute of extra-time. Bellingham, who was named man-of-the-match for his goal-of-the-tournament contender, said: “It’s got to be up there, hasn’t it?
“There’s a few nice ones, goals that mean a lot to me personally like my first goals for Birmingham, Dortmund, Madrid. But this was a feeling like no other.
"In international football, knock-out football, it’s the worst feeling when you are no more than 30 seconds from going home and having to listen to all the rubbish. You feel like you’ve let a nation of people down and 30 seconds later, with one kick of the ball, everything can change.
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"It’s 20 or 30 seconds until we’re out of the European Championship. It’s hard to deny that it’s one of the most important moments of my career so far. It’s still a long tournament and it is only really very important if we go on to win the cup. So we’ll decide in the next two weeks how important it is.”
As Bellingham wheeled away in celebration, his pure joy led to him screaming ‘who else?’ Last week, Kane felt compelled to hit back at former England stars Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer for their opinions on Gareth Southgate ’s team.
Bellingham, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Saturday, said: “Playing for England should be one of the proudest moments of a footballer’s career, but at times it is quite difficult, you know?
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Jude Bellingham has hit back at his critics“There’s a really intense pressure. The fans expect a lot from us, regardless of what happened in recent tournaments or years and years ago. People talk a lot - and I think you do have to take it personally a little bit. Sometimes it doesn’t go well and sometimes it feels like there’s a bit of a pile-on.
“It’s not nice to hear - but you can always use it. After moments like that, it’s always nice to throw something back to some people, I suppose. Playing for England is an enjoyable feeling but there’s also a lot of pressure because you hear people talk a lot of rubbish.
“ Football, being on the pitch, scoring goals and celebrating is my release - and it was maybe a message to a few people. It was a very happy moment.”
Kane, who clinched a place in the last eight with his 65th international goal, hopes that England have found the inspiration to really go deep in the tournament.
“When it’s that late in the game and you’re 1-0 down in knockout football, you need to find a way to claw yourself out of the hole,” said the England skipper. “Hopefully we can use the momentum and take it forward now.
“We talk a lot about this team that we have created since Gareth has been here. Of course we know we can improve but what people and other teams underestimate is the spirit we have.”
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There was a brief flare-up at the final whistle involving Declan Rice and Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona. Calzona explained: “I wanted to speak to the referee and Rice was carrying on and continuing to speak to him.
"Then he apologised and it all ended there. “I didn’t like the way the England team, when they were wasting time, were not punished.”
Rice was in no mood to think about anything other than a famous England victory. He said: “I cannot describe the feeling representing England. You look up at the clock and you think ‘we could be going home here’.
“There is that inner fight and spirit in us. We have got that togetherness. We would do anything to protect this manager. Keep going and keep fighting. It’s an honour to be a part of it – we are going to keep going.”
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