A Chilean from Bellingham saves England from a crash
The Real Madrid player forced extra time in the 95th minute and Kane sealed the comeback against Slovakia to reach the quarterfinals
MADRID, 30 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
England were saved by a miracle and advanced to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 thanks to a goal from a bicycle kick by Jude Bellingham, which forced extra time in the 95th minute, and another from Harry Kane to come back (2-1) against Slovakia at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
The Gareth Southgate era faltered and in a big way, unable to perform as expected from a team of stars. The ‘Three Lions’ suffered at the back, with counterattacks from a Slovakia that warned several times until Ivan Schranz made it 0-1 in the 25th minute.
The English coach, with eight years in office and more questioned than ever, put in all his artillery and at the horn, Bellingham worked that miracle of forcing extra time in a kind of bicycle kick. Shortly after extra time began, Kane made it 2-1 and, although the inventors of football did not decide, they kept their ticket to the quarterfinals, on the positive side of the tournament, against Switzerland.
England showed some hidden joy at the start, wanting to move the ball quickly and look at the rival goal, especially with Bukayo Saka, in need of a good performance to silence the criticism. However, in the three lions each one went their own way, without connection to function up or down, where the Slovaks left three very dangerous counters in ten minutes.
Between the discomfort of the rival and a referee who kept showing yellow cards, it didn’t take long for Southgate’s men to feel uncomfortable once again in this EURO, with elimination at stake. The English lack of forcefulness was punished by the rival with seriously dangerous arrivals between Hancko and Haraslin, a nightmare on their left wing.
England was playing behind, with Haraslin reaching the kitchen again and Trippier serving almost under the sticks. Bellingham and Phil Foden tried to connect for the English good, waking up their fans even with God Save the King in Gelsenkirchen, but then came Schranz’s Slovakian 0-1.
England’s defense made water, between one and the other the house without sweeping, and almost with a kick, in three passes, Francesco Calzona’s men gave a tremendous and well-deserved blow to the tie. Southgate’s men pointed at each other and barely had any reaction in the 20 minutes until the break, with Slovakia comfortable in defense, despite the fact that Bellingham and Mainoo looked for the rival goal.
BELLINGHAM’S MIRACLE IN THE 95TH MINUTE
With the resumption, the light seemed to illuminate the English, when Trippier found the highway on his side and Foden made it 1-1. However, the VAR ruled it out for offside, and it took a while for the English to get some rhythm into the game. Harry Kane began to appear, as did Mainoo, but Slovakia did not give up the attack, and the many yellow cards of the match came into play.
It was difficult for Southgate to make a move, but the stands celebrated Cole Palmer’s entry like a goal. The ‘Three Lions’ went all out on the attack but the accumulation of men translated into crosses from the wings that Slovakia controlled well. Calzona’s team defended well until, in long stoppage time, Bellingham appeared with a bicycle kick that made the history of the tournament.
The one from Real Madrid forced extra time in an agonizing way and saved the trump of an England that, after losing the final three years ago at Wembley, had an epic before football. The blow was undoubtedly hard for a Slovakia that conceded the 2-1 in the first minute of extra time, a header from Kane in a small area.
However, the Slovak side, looking to continue making history at a major tournament, looked up and confirmed that England struggle to manage such quality. Southgate’s men relied more on long balls than on a more controlled situation in search of a third, but there were no more twists in Gelsenkirchen.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: ENGLAND, 2 – SLOVAKIA, 1. (0-1, at half-time).
–LINEUPS.
ENGLAND: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guéhi, Trippier (Palmer, min.66); Mainoo (Eze, min.84), Rice; Saka, Bellingham (Konsa, min.106), Foden (Toney, min.90); Kane (Gallagher, min.106).
ESLOVAQUIA: Dubravka; Pekarik (Uota, min.109), Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Lobotka, Duda (Benes, min.82), Kucka (Bero, min.82); Schranz (Gyomber, min.90), Haraslin (Suslov, min.61); Strelec (Bozenik, min.61).
–GOALS:
0 – 1, min.25, Schranz.
1 – 1, min.90+5, Bellingham.
2 – 1, min.91, Kane.
–REFEREE: Umut Meler (TUR). Amonestó to Guéhi (min.3), Mainoo (min.7) and Bellingham (min.17) for England. And to Kucka (min.13), Skriniar (min.45+1), Pekarik (min.77), Vavro (min.108) and Gyomber (min.114) for Slovakia.
–STADIUM: Veltins-Arena (Gelsenkirchen).