GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — Jude Bellingham needed to produce something special to keep England at Euro 2024.
Right on cue, Bellingham’s spectacular overhead kick in the fifth of six added minutes sent Sunday’s game into extra time, and Harry Kane sealed a 2-1 win that keeps alive England’s hopes of a first major trophy since 1966.
England was seconds away from slumping to one of the biggest upsets in the history of the European Championship when trailing 1-0 to Slovakia deep into stoppage time in the round of 16.
“I think it was 30 or 20 seconds until we were out of the European Championship,” Bellingham said. “It’s hard to deny that it was one of the most important moments of my career so far.”
He’s had a few.
The midfielder, who turned 21 on Saturday, has just completed a stunning debut season at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League and the Spanish title.
At such a young age, he is already one of England’s most important players and delivered a moment of magic when all hope seemed lost.
“His world is different to pretty much every other 21-year-old in the world… what he can provide are these moments where he grabs things by the scruff of the neck and his character and his personality creates moments that can change a big game,” said England manager Gareth Southgate, who admitted he thought a tired-looking Bellingham was “out on his feet” 15 minutes before the end of regulation time.
England – one of the pre-tournament favorites and runner-up at the last Euros – trailed to 45th-ranked Slovakia after Ivan Schranz’s 25th-minute goal.
With the clock running down, Bellingham’s time came.
Kyle Walker launched a long throw from the right. Marc Guehi leapt to flick the ball on.
Bellingham was in the box and had to readjust his body to execute a perfect overhead kick, sending the ball into the bottom corner to leave Slovakia goalkeeper Martin Dubravka stuck on his line as he watched it nestle into the back of the net.
Some England fans had already left the stadium. Those inside erupted.
“I had a funny feeling the game wasn’t dead and I know that sounds ridiculous. We were pushing and probing,” Southgate said.
Bellingham’s goal was England’s first shot on target in the match.
It didn’t have to wait long for its second as Kane headed home to score his seventh goal in his last seven knockout games at major tournaments. It was also a record-extending 65th for his country.
England will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals in Duesseldorf on Saturday.
But for so long it looked like being a humbling exit for Southgate’s team — bringing back memories of its elimination at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016.
“It’s knockout football and anything is possible,” Southgate said.
England had faced fierce criticism for its performances in the group stage and boos rang around the stadium in the first half as frustration grew among its fans following Schranz’s strike.
It needed to improve in the second half. Phil Foden had a goal ruled out by VAR, Kane headed wide from close range and Declan Rice hit the post in the 81st.
Slovakia had already produced a shock by beating No.3-ranked Belgium in the group stage and it looked like doing it again against the No. 5-ranked team in the world.
That was until Bellingham struck.
“They scored a goal from a player who is valued at 100 million euros. This was a team worth 1.5 billion (euros). You concede just half a meter and you will get punished,” Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona said.
SPAIN 4, GEORGIA 1
Spain recovered from conceding an early own-goal to beat Georgia 4-1 for a spot in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, ending one of the tournament’s most compelling underdog stories.
Goals from midfielders Rodri and Fabián Ruiz brought Spain back into the game after Robin Le Normand’s own-goal in the 18th minute had given Georgia a shock lead. Nico Williams and Dani OImo took the game out of Georgia’s reach with two more goals late in the game as heavy rain fell.
After the final whistle, Williams and the 16-year-old Lamine Yamal met up on the field for an impromptu game of rock-paper-scissors, apparently over who got to drink first from a water bottle.
It was a moment that summed up the unpredictability and sense of fun in a Spain team which had previously been prone to retreating into an unthreatening passing game, as in its loss to Morocco at the same stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Facing Georgia was a test of Spain’s nerves, Rodri said.
“It was a tough game. We knew it before. Maybe they don’t have the big names, but they made it hard for us,” he said, adding that his goal “was key because we were a bit jittery at that point… We have things to improve.”
His own performance won praise from Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who called Rodri “a walking computer, a perfect computer” in Spain’s midfield, in translated comments.
Spain will play host nation Germany in the quarterfinals on Friday in Stuttgart.
“Obviously Germany at home is going to be very strong but we have no fear. We have our own weapons,” Rodri said.
The loss ends Georgia’s first ever major tournament campaign, which included a 2-0 upset win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Despite the lopsided score on Sunday, Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili had another standout game with nine saves to prevent a rout.
Spain had beaten Georgia 7-1 in qualifying last year, but this game was a close contest until the last 20 minutes and testament to Georgia’s rapid improvement under coach Willy Sagnol.
Playing its fourth game of Euro 2024, Spain had yet to concede a goal all tournament.
That soon changed when Otar Kakabadze surged down the right flank for Georgia and crossed low. Le Normand chested the ball past his own goalkeeper, with the defender apparently distracted by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arriving behind him to meet the cross.
Spain took its time to get back into the game, but Rodri — back from a one-game suspension — leveled the score in the 39th with a low shot from just outside the box.
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Georgia remained a threat on the counter, including with an audacious shot from the halfway line by Kvaratskhelia, but Spain midfielder Ruiz made it 2-1 in the 51st when he rose unmarked to meet a cross from Yamal.
Needing a goal, Georgia had to open up its compact defensive formation and conceded twice more as Williams scored in the 75th, sprinting through the Georgian half on the break before shooting over Mamardashvili. Substitute Olmo added a fourth eight minutes later.
Sagnol said his team could have beaten Spain after Le Normand’s own-goal but the combination of the equalizer from Rodri and an injury to Otar Kiteishvili just after took the wind out of their sails.
“We thought we could have a chance,” Sagnol said. “We did lose a lot in these 20, 30 seconds.”
After the final whistle, Georgia’s players gathered in front of their fans for a slow-clap chant reminiscent of another European Championship underdog — Iceland — when it beat England in 2016.