Jude Bellingham created a magical moment by scoring an incredible bicycle kick goal to equalize against Slovakia at Euro 2024. England faced elimination from the tournament until Bellingham appeared in the dying moments of injury time.
Following a throw-in from Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi flicked the ball to Bellingham, who executed an acrobatic finish to tie the game in the 95th minute. His amazing goal hit the back of the net, and he celebrated amid jubilant scenes.
Bellingham now has two goals at Euro 2024, having netted England’s winning goal against Serbia in their opening match.
In the first minute of extra time, Harry Kane scored with a close-range header to give his team the lead in a remarkable comeback. Similar to Bellingham, Kane also has two goals in this tournament.
England endured a disappointing group stage and manager Gareth Southgate was criticised for his conservative approach to selection. However, the English tactician made a change in this match, with young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo starting for the first time at EURO 2024. This was England’s only change from the draw with Slovenia. Meanwhile, Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona kept the same line-up as in the last match – a 1-1 draw with Romania in the final group stage match.
The Three Lions, with their squad of top players, were highly rated by experts, but they were up against a Slovakian side that played like a maniac right after the opening whistle.
Coach Calzona’s players showed no signs of fear and, despite having much less possession of the ball than their opponents (25% compared to 75% in the first half), they were the ones who created dangerous chances in front of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Slovakia defended proactively and were extremely dangerous on the counter-attack. One of them was converted into a goal in the 25th minute. After the ball was passed from the home field to striker David Strelec, this player made a smart pass for Ivan Schranz to run into the penalty area before skillfully flicking the outside of his right foot to beat Pickford to open the score.
