At the beginning, Gelsenkirchen was the English team’s least favorite place, perhaps because it reminds them of Birmingham, Sheffield or Blackpool. Now it has become a place of happiness. The English are known for tragic failures. Missed penalties, goalkeeping mistakes, unnecessary red cards, the whole repertoire. This time, things went the other way.
After their revival, the English fans sang an old Beatles hit. Hey Judethe ode to Jude Bellingham, rang through the arena in Gelsenkirchen. Their star had equalized with an overhead kick in the fifth minute of injury time and prevented another embarrassment for the English national team. It was not a good game from Bellingham, but a spectacular goal and a historic feat.
The fans’ cheers, half triumph, half relief, continued until the break between the end of normal time and extra time. The usual English defeatism gave way to a confidence that was soon to prove true. Not long after the restart, Harry Kane headed the ball to make it 2-1, right in front of the English corner. From then on, England defended their lead with great effort and faith in God.
Many would have wished Gareth Southgate’s team an early exit. England is not everybody’s darling, its fans don’t wear skirts. This tournament also shows how unimaginative the team is. But now the English could go really far.
In the event of a defeat, another scene would have become emblematic of England’s performance. In the first half, Kieran Trippier decided to take a rather errant diagonal pass from Bellingham directly. The ball flew a good ten metres over the goal. That wouldn’t even have counted in rugby.
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England did not appear to be favourites. The Slovakians easily pushed through the midfield and defence of the poorly organised English team until they deservedly took the lead through Ivan Schranz. It was his third goal at this European Championship, no one has scored more so far.
England found it particularly difficult to build up the game. The patience of the spectators was tested by the long-winded passing orgies between the defenders without gaining any ground. The thing that brought the most movement into the game was the constant waving of Jordan Pickford, the English goalkeeper. He is signaling something to his teammates, or perhaps it is just displacement activity.
The midfield around Declan Rice, the highly-rated number six who lacks all the subtleties, faltered. Bukayo Saka couldn’t get going, Phil Foden was on his own. Kane played without dynamism. The best attack ended with a goal from Foden, but it was disallowed for offside. Rice hit the post from distance. Kane headed just wide.
Slovakia, European champions with the Czech Republic in 1976, had already beaten Belgium. They were superior to the English in terms of play. They could have equalized in extra time, but England didn’t even manage a counterattack in 30 minutes.
After his goal, Bellingham did not just express his joy. He later stressed his satisfaction at the allegedly unjustified criticism. On the pitch, he mocked the Slovakian bench while celebrating. He is just losing sympathy.
The victory will not appease the critics in England. “We were 30 seconds away from being eliminated,” said Jude Bellingham, the player of the match, to the press. “Then we would have had to listen to all the rubbish again.” The victory was a good response to that, and with the goal and his celebration he was able to set things back a little.
There is a lot of criticism of Gareth Southgate in England. His team disappoints many, and the high market value of some English players obscures their true quality. England ends up being the quarter-finalist in the worst mood.
That doesn’t change the fact that the team has a good chance. They now face Switzerland, who are in good form, but they could have faced tougher opponents in the quarter-finals. Romania, Turkey, the Netherlands or Austria could be possible opponents in the semi-finals. The tournament tree is not bad for the English, even if many are dreading a final with them.
Gelsenkirchen was initially the English’s least favorite place, perhaps because it reminded them of Birmingham, Sheffield or Blackpool. Now it has become a place of happiness. The English are known for tragic failures. Missed penalties, goalkeeping mistakes, unnecessary red cards, the whole repertoire. This time it was the opposite.
After their revival, the English fans sang an old Beatles hit. Hey Judethe ode to Jude Bellingham, rang through the arena in Gelsenkirchen. Their star had equalized with an overhead kick in the fifth minute of injury time and prevented another embarrassment for the English national team. It was not a good game from Bellingham, but a spectacular goal and a historic feat.
