EURO 2024: Bellingham says England used critics as fuel
Match hero Jude Bellingham said England used the critics as fuel following their 2-1 dramatic win to Slovakia in the Round-of-16.
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Bellingham used doubts as fuel in England win
Criticisms against England’s performance in the ongoing EURO 2024 tournament have grown louder and louder.
The Three Lions were even on the brink of the elimination against world No. 45 Slovakia on Sunday.
However, Bellingham struck a bicycle kick to force the game into extra-time and captain Harry Kane headed from close range to advance in the quarterfinals.
With the win, England will face Switzerland on Saturday in Dusseldorf.
Bellingham, who recently turned 21 on Saturday, said it was nice to get back at their doubters.
“The adrenaline gets you,” Bellingham said after the game.
“It’s a combination of a lot of things. Playing for England is an enjoyable feeling but it’s also a lot of pressure. You hear people talk a lot of rubbish. It’s nice when you can deliver and give them a little bit back.”
“It’s very difficult when you talk in press conferences and interviews to talk as openly as footballers want to because they’re always judged. For me, football, being on the pitch, scoring goals and celebrating is my release.
“Maybe it was a message to a few people. I was very happy at the end, lots of adrenaline.”
Playing for England is ‘difficult’
The Real Madrid admitted he took the hate personally, saying it’s difficult to play for England.
Nonetheless, it felt nice for Bellingham to silence the naysayers for a while.
“You know what I mean by the rubbish. Playing for England should be the most proud moment of your career but often it’s quite difficult. There’s a really high intense pressure. The fans expect a lot from us regardless of what happened in recent tournaments years and years ago.”
“People talk a lot. You do have to take it personally a little bit. We work so hard at this game. We come in every day, we work hard to put on a performance for the fans, sometimes it doesn’t go well and sometimes it feels like there’s a a bit of a pile on, it’s not nice to hear. But you can always use it and for moments like that, it’s nice to throw it back to some people.”
