Jude Bellingham could not hide his anger after England’s dramatic late defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
The Three Lions suffered another agonising final defeat in the European Championship after Mikel Oyarzabal’s 86th minute goal to seal a 2-1 victory for Spain. Â
At the final whistle, all of the England players looked distraught, but the Real Madrid midfielder in particular.Â
He stormed off the pitch and kicked a drinks cooler in frustration and could be seen sat on the England bench looking towards the pitch, appearing to be in a very thoughtful mood. Â
Bellingham eventually returned to the pitch where he was consoled by England captain Harry Kane and manager Gareth Southgate. Â
Bellingham had calmed down by the time of the medal presentation but was clearly upset as he had to walk past the Euro 2024 trophy, and like with many players on losing sides in finals, he was quick to take his medal off.Â
Click here to resize this module
After the match, Bellingham described the defeat as ‘cruel’ and ‘heartbreaking’
‘To lose in that way is really cruel,’ he told reporters. ‘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.’
The 21-year-old played a part in England’s equaliser after Nico Williams had given Spain the lead.
Bukayo Saka found the midfielder, who despite being off-balance, was able to lay it back to Cole Palmer to score a brilliant equaliser.
Bellingham was also a big reason why England made it to the final, after his stunning overhead kick kept their last-16 tie against Slovakia alive in the dying moments of the game to take it to extra-time.Â
His manager Southgate said after the game: ‘I think they were the best team in the tournament. We didn’t keep the ball well enough but we were in it until the last. I am devastated for everyone, players have been incredible, I am so proud.Â
‘We had a little bit of momentum. Big chance at the end to equalise as well but I’m not sure we did quite enough.’