England’s thrilling victory over Slovakia at Euro 2024 left the European press less than enthused by the Three Lions’ performance, despite their dramatic progression to the quarter-finals.
With mere seconds left on the clock, Jude Bellingham produced a stunning acrobatic effort to level the scores and force extra time, where Harry Kane ultimately secured the win for Gareth Southgate’s side.
However, the pre-tournament favorites once again failed to impress, and much of the foreign media’s focus was on Bellingham, whose last-gasp heroics couldn’t mask a lackluster display.
Bellingham produced a stunning acrobatic effort to level the scores
German outlet BILD was particularly critical, claiming that the host nation is now favored to lift the trophy if they can overcome Spain in their quarter-final clash.
BILD claimed that Germany will lift the trophy if they beat Spain
Matthias Brugelmann, writing for BILD, stated: “The europhoria in the country is immense after reaching the quarter-finals of a tournament for the first time since 2016. Celebrate, enjoy, dream – good, Germany!”
He continued: “The truth is that our results sound more confident than the course of the game was in some cases. That is why World Cup captain [Philipp] Lahm rightly warned after the victory against Denmark. My conviction: Germany or Spain – whoever wins on Friday will take the title!”
The German publication also took aim at Bellingham, stating: “The truth is that Bellingham didn’t really have any influence on the game until he scored a wonderful goal and was more likely to be noticed for his negative actions.”
Former Germany international Christoph Kramer offered his thoughts on the 21-year-old: “He is an outstanding player. He just has to be careful that he doesn’t start to get too big for his boots at such a young age.”
Kramer added: “What I always find really bad is when you wave your hands off your own players. He made a few gestures today, but he has done so in recent games as well. The season he played, I give him credit for that. But he still has to be careful that things don’t go in a really stupid direction. I hope that he reflects on that a bit during the summer break.”
Per Mertesacker, another former Germany international, chimed in: “He doesn’t stay lying down, he rolls around. You don’t have to roll around again to provoke something.”
Bellingham’s celebrations, which included a “Who else?” gesture and another sign aimed at friends in the crowd, also came under scrutiny.
Bellingham and Kane celebrated after the midfielder’s equalizer
BILD warned Bellingham against getting too cocky
In France, the focus was also on Bellingham and Kane, with the media acknowledging the individual brilliance of the two English scorers, who “symbolized the unexpected revolt of their team, after having reflected its weaknesses.”
Meanwhile, in Spain, where Bellingham is a key player for Real Madrid, the tone was more positive. Marca played on the English national anthem, writing: “In reality, Bellingham can play both roles in ‘God Save the King,’ because England is divided right now between those who think he is God and those who limit themselves to pointing him out as the King.”
The French media highlighted the struggles of the England players
Spanish publication Marca played on the English national anthem
In Portugal, Bellingham’s heroics were celebrated with a reference to his own song, ‘Hey Jude’. A Bola described his goal as a “Hollywood-esque bicycle kick” and praised Bellingham for “taking a sad song and making it better.”
In Portugal, Bellingham’s song ‘Hey Jude’ was referenced
Bellingham’s stunning equalizer is sure to be a contender for goal of the tournament, and his acrobatic strike was met with a chorus of ‘Hey Jude’ inside the stadium in Schalke.