Jude Bellingham compared his spectacular overhead kick to Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic goal for Real Madrid but admitted that the Portuguese star’s strike was far superior.

England was on the brink of a humiliating exit from Euro 2024 on Sunday, only to narrowly advance past Slovakia into a fourth consecutive major quarter-final under Gareth Southgate, largely thanks to Bellingham.

The Real Madrid player, who had just turned 21 the day before the last-16 match, saved the team with a 95th-minute overhead kick against their disciplined opponents, before Harry Kane secured a 2-1 extra-time victory.

Bellingham felt a strong connection to his Real Madrid roots, revealing that he felt like club legend Ronaldo, who scored a memorable overhead kick against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals during the 2017-18 season.

However, upon reviewing his goal, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder critiqued his own technique and acknowledged one reason why Ronaldo’s effort was superior.

‘It was really instinct more than anything, it kind of fell in the perfect spot, it was a little bit behind me,’ Bellingham told the Diary Room on England’s social media channels.

‘When I was in the air thought “my god, I’m like, six feet off the ground, and it’s like, (Cristiano) Ronaldo”, but I watched it back and I’ve still got one arm on the floor, so it wasn’t the most acrobatic!

‘But I think it was a nice contact and when I turned around on the floor and just saw it kind of rolling in, I thought “oh my God”; it was definitely one of the most important and memorable moments of my career so far.’

England will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday, with the match taking place in Dusseldorf. Southgate gave his players and staff a day off on Tuesday, acknowledging that many were fatigued after the Slovakia game.

With several friends and family visiting the team’s base at Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land, Bellingham’s spectacular volley, which initiated the comeback in Gelsenkirchen, was undoubtedly a hot topic of discussion.

“It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, really,” Bellingham remarked.

‘Not probably the most enjoyable way to win a game, obviously you always want to feel like you’re in control and you’re comfortable.

‘But you’ve got to find ways to win, even if it means an overhead kicks in the 90-plus-five you’ve got to try and find a way.

‘But the difference in emotion is so huge. You know, it’s one minute being kind of dead and buried, I saw the Slovakia bench and they were all kind of ready to run on, You feel a bit disheartened and a bit gutted.

‘We didn’t stop believing that we could create one more chance and luckily, we got it.

‘There was a throw-in just before where they’d not cleared it well, or they kind of shanked the clearance a little bit.’