Jude Bellingham was heavily criticised for his performances at EURO 2024 despite some standout moments.
Along with Bukayo Saka’s successful penalty in shootout, Jude Bellingham was responsible for perhaps the most iconic moment of England’s EURO 2024 campaign.
His injury-time overhead kick against Slovakia turned a certain – and embarrassing – early exit to a victory after extra time and allowed the Three Lions’ campaign to grow all the way until the final.
Indeed, his powerful header just 13 minutes into his country’s opener against Serbia was ultimately the difference between winning the group and having to rely on other results to get through as one of the best third-placed teams.
They were his two Roy of the Rovers moments, two moments that will undoubtedly be on his showreel ahead of the 2026 World Cup when his boot sponsor, Adidas, inevitably produce another nation-rousing advert painting him as the star.
The one they produced ahead of EURO 2024, featuring the David Beckham, Frank Lampard and a series of England disappointments in major tournaments interspersed with some of Bellingham’s personal triumphs and overlayed with The Beatles’ Hey Jude, certainly did the job of rousing a nation.
But, according to The Athletic, Bellingham’s “portrayal as a saviour” was “at odds with the collective ethos” that the England team had built over the eight years Gareth Southgate has been in charge.
The report also claims that the player’s “demeanour” was the subject of talk amongst players in the camp, with Bellingham being hyper-aware of every word of criticism written about him in the England press.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney was someone who was critical of Bellingham in his column in The Times for failing to front up for media duties during the difficult moments at the tournament, despite being added to Southgate’s leadership group – which already included Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Declan Rice.
“It may be time to grow up, make decisions and say, ‘I need to help out and speak during the difficult times’,” Rooney wrote, “because if England win these Euros, I’m sure you’ll see him doing interviews.”
The Athletic also claims that as a result of his rapid rise through the England ranks, Bellingham hasn’t forged the kind of friendships with current England internationals as many of the others, save for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who he has a strong bond with.
That seemed evident after the final whistle on Monday morning when the Real Madrid star walked off the pitch to sit in the England dugout alone, kicking a drinks bucket on his way, while the rest of his teammates consoled each other on the pitch.
He eventually did go around to his teammates one by one, but his advanced were not always reciprocated.
After the game, Bellingham described the defeat as “cruel” and “heartbreaking”.
“To lose in that way is really cruel,” he said. “Again, we probably didn’t play our best game, but there were definitely some good moments and we felt like we got back into the game, and then to kind of be sucker-punched with the late goal… it’s heartbreaking.
“We all wanted nothing more than to make history and to make the people of England proud and we never managed to do it, we didn’t quite deliver.”
