Jude Bellingham has responded to the recent criticism England have received in the build-up to their clash with Slovakia on Sunday.
After three less-than-inspiring performances in the group stages, which saw them win one game and go on to draw two, confidence was at an all-time low heading into Sunday’s round of 16 clash with Slovakia.
As a result, Gareth Southgate’s side received a sizeable amount of criticism for their performances with several players like Harry Kane and Declan Rice publicly addressing this in the media.
It looked like the England players had this in the back of their minds as they entered the pitch on Sunday evening as they struggled to find any real tempo in the game.
This was made worse when they were sucker punched by a Slovakia goal courtesy of Ivan Schranz who broke behind a sleeping England defence before poking the ball past Jordan Pickford in the 25th minute.
With the Three Lions behind heading into the 95th minute, it looked like their Euro’s dream was over until Bellingham produced a moment of magic, rifling the ball into the back of the net with an overhead kick.
Southgate’s side would then go on to win the contest with Harry Kane scoring the winner immediately after the restart in extra time.
Speaking after the game, Bellingham addressed the recent criticism England have received and the pressure that they have had to endure.
“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 bit of a pile on, it’s not nice to hear.” he said in his post-match press conference via ESPN.
“But you can always use it and for moments like that, it’s nice to throw it back to some people.”
The Three Lions must now turn their attention towards next week’s quarter-final clash with Switzerland where they will face off on Saturday evening.