Who else? Jude Bellingham mouthed the words during the wild goal celebrations and it was a good point well made. It simply had to be Bellingham, England’s golden boy, rescuing the team, the nation and surely Gareth Southgate, too, with an act of comic‑book brilliance just when all seemed lost.
The board had gone up to show six additional minutes at the end of the 90, England trailing to Ivan Schranz’s goal for Slovakia midway through the first half and the obituaries were being written. Hell, they had been written.
Enter Bellingham. It had not really happened for him up to that point, although he was hardly the only England player to have struggled. Yet the 21-year-old refused to believe it was over. Who else shared the same conviction? Be honest now …
It had been a largely horrible performance by Southgate’s team, of a piece with much of what they had produced during the group stage of this tournament. But when Marc Guéhi flicked on a long Kyle Walker throw‑in, with stoppage time almost up, Bellingham had found the space in front of the penalty spot and he leapt into the overhead kick. The technique was exquisite.
England had their reprieve and a historic moment, such a critical goal so late in a knockout tie. When the chips are down, England have tended to subside. Not here, and they turned the screw at the start of extra time.
Harry Kane had laboured as much as any England player; he continues to look short of peak fitness. But when two of Southgate’s substitutes combined, Ivan Toney heading a miscued Eberechi Eze shot across the six-yard box, there was Kane to crash home with his head.
Southgate will bring up his 100th game as England’s manager when his side faces Switzerland in the quarter‑finals on Saturday. This was emotional. Have England finally found something to spark them?
The narrative had taken in the only previous tournament meeting between the nations, the 0-0 draw in the final group stage tie at Euro 2016, which led to England being leapfrogged by Wales to top spot. It stood to mean a tougher last‑16 draw for Roy Hodgson’s team only for Iceland to emerge. Which would be all right, wouldn’t it? On a small level, Slovakia had helped to usher in the age of Southgate. Bellingham ensured it would continue, at least for another game.
England felt the nerves hammer at the outset. It was all so loose from them, errors on the ball, the referee, Halil Umut Meler, looking edgy, too, showing early yellow cards, including one for Guéhi – his second of the tournament, meaning he will be suspended for Switzerland. Guéhi had been played into trouble by Kieran Trippier and he had to jump in on David Strelec; it was a kind of tone‑setter from Trippier for England’s passing.
England were a tough watch in the first half, slow to move the ball and it was because the options were not there. Too often, they checked inside, the England fans in the crowd – and there were many more than the official figure of 6,500 – feeling the twist of frustration.
There was a moment on 29 minutes when Jordan Pickford came all the way out of his area to make the extra man in a buildup move; he visibly implored greater urgency, and soon after there were howls from the stands when Trippier looked up the left, gestured that nothing was on and went back.
There were heated discussions between some of the England players, which strangely were played as a montage on the big screen towards the end of the first half. England were booed off at half-time, having failed to muster a shot on target.
Slovakia had advertised their goal. It felt as if they quickly realised there was nothing to fear. Strelec took a header away from the better-placed Juraj Kucka on a free-kick; David Hancko was twice close to making low crosses count and Lukas Haraslin had a shot blocked by Guéhi, Trippier completing a clearance.
England were scrambled and they had it all to do when Stones and Guéhi went for the same aerial ball, Kucka winning it above the latter. Strelec released Schranz in behind Guéhi and the finish was straightforward.
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England were better after the second-half restart, bringing a higher tempo. Phil Foden had the ball in the net from a left-footed Trippier cross only for the VAR to pull him back for offside. Kane saw a shot deflect wide. And yet England continued to frustrate and look brittle. Walker and Stones – who were both awfully off-key – contrived a ludicrous mix‑up that, with Pickford off his line, allowed Strelec to shoot from halfway. He was narrowly off target.
Southgate introduced Cole Palmer for Trippier, moving Bukayo Saka to left-back. It was the manager going for broke, everything on the line. The tension pulsed. Could England manufacture something?
They did but it did not look like being enough. Kane sent a gilt-edged header wide from a Foden cross and Declan Rice rattled the post from outside the box, Kane volleying the rebound down and over. Bellingham, though, had not read the script about what would have been the most inglorious of exits, one to rival Iceland 2016.
Slovakia will not enjoy watching the replays, too many of their defenders sucked towards Guéhi on Walker’s all-or-nothing throw-in. When Guéhi made the most important flick-on of his life, it was over to Bellingham. Cue delirium.
Moments earlier, Southgate had introduced Toney for Foden, switching to a 3-5-2 formation. Eze went to left wing-back; now it was Saka at right wing-back. It was Toney who made the difference at the start of extra time, teeing up Kane and thereafter it was a case of England seeing out the game.
Southgate went to 5-4-1, Ezri Konsa on the left of defence, Conor Gallagher in midfield. Toney might have scored a third at the very end only to lash high. England live to fight another day.
Source: theguardian.com
