It was a sweet time for England as “Sweet Caroline” rang throughout Arena AufSchalke following the team’s 2-1 victory over Slovakia in their opening knockout game of Euro 2024.
The Three Lions and their thousands of faithful supporters couldn’t have been happier after the win, which sends them to Düsseldorf for a matchup with Switzerland Saturday. But the arena’s atmosphere was starkly different just minutes earlier, as the English-dominated crowd watched in silence with their squad trailing 1-0 at the 90-minute mark.
Enter Jude Bellingham, who time and time again has come through in the clutch for England. The star attacker found the back of the net on a spectacular bicycle kick in the 95th minute to send the match to extra time.
Harry Kane, whose previous shots were all off-target, headed himself into form minutes later to seal England’s win. But the squad was shaky in the affair, firing 16 shots but just two that were on goal – the two of which were actually goals. And for the majority of the game, the Three Lions had virtually no roar.
England has perhaps been the most heavily-criticized team in this tournament, and that’s in large part because they’re the favorites to win it. But they haven’t looked like runaway favorites by any stretch. The team took a 1-2-0 record into the knockout stages, squeaking its way through thanks to an underwhelming Group C field.
The team has struggled to score points (Sunday marked the first time it notched more than one goal), while manager Gareth Southgate’s lineups have been closely scrutinized.
The pressure-packed reality for England is one that Ari Hingst sympathized with.
“This English press, they’re so interesting to see,” she said postgame on “FOX Soccer Now.” “They’re either all the way down or now they’re gonna be hyped up all the way. There’s nothing in between. There’s so much pressure on the player, and you can feel the pressure on the field.
“For me, it seems like they’re almost freezing, like they can’t even move their legs because they feel it all the time. So coming out … you give that great answer, and then you can actually say ‘I had it in me. I always knew no matter what you guys are writing.’ But it’s tough, I can only imagine what these guys have to go through, reading all this. Even though you try to step away from it, you still hear it and it’s frustrating. … Just one mistake and they’re the losers of the nation.”
Wes Morgan, who has made over 500 appearances in the English Premier League, knows all too well how tough it can be to succeed amid the media pressures.
“[There’s] so much negativity,” Morgan said. “I think it’s quite telling when Jude was talking there. It’s been a tough week keeping out the negative energy. I think we saw that on the pitch, how the players carried that onto the pitch and just don’t feel free to go about. The pressure from home is on them, but Jude answered the critics there with a great goal. And despite the win and despite the mood being lifted, I’m sure the press will find some negativity in there to bring it back down.”
Morgan, despite England’s shakiness, still has them riding high on his “It’s coming home” meter.
“I’m going right to the penthouse, Buckingham Palace,” Morgan exclaimed. “It’s coming home. Look at the route to the final, it’s there. I said before the game, there’s no one that’s really going to challenge them. Obviously, they have to perform much better, but it’s gonna land at the top of the roof.”
Melissa Ortiz was more skeptical.
“I’m gonna go not to Buckingham Palace,” Ortiz countered, “but … I’d say like middle to middle-plus range. I’d say a five, six. Just because of the way that the knockout stages is coming out, the opponents that they could potentially face. It’s kind of served if they keep it up.”
Conrad gave England an even lesser chance of bringing the Euro trophy home: “I just haven’t seen enough from them, they haven’t put a complete 90 minutes together, and I think the Swiss are going to ask a lot more questions of them than Slovakia. … It’s not coming home. They maybe get past Switzerland.”
But Bellingham, although he’s felt the pressure to perform perhaps more than anyone, remains poised in his self-belief.
“I know I can deliver in those moments regardless of what people say,” he said after the win. I’ve done it this year for [Real] Madrid, I’ve done it for England before, and just happy to help the team tonight.”
As for who writes his scripts after this one which came straight out of Hollywood, Bellingham was assured.
“I do.”
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