Bellingham brilliance rescues England to book Euro 2024 quarter-final spot

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany :Jude Bellingham rescued England from crashing out of Euro 2024 against Slovakia on Sunday with a stunning 95th-minute equaliser before Harry Kane's early extra-time winner sent the below-par pre-tournament favourites into the quarter-finals.

England were once again poor, looking lethargic and unable to create clear openings, but a moment of magic from Bellingham, who fired home with a bicycle kick, kept them alive before Kane's header set up a clash with Switzerland in Duesseldorf on Saturday.

Slovakia started far sharper than England and gave their opponents several warnings before Ivan Schranz placed a deft finish past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 25th minute.

England, who had come back to win their last three Euro games in which they conceded first, including the last edition's semi-final, thought they were level shortly after the break but Phil Foden was clearly offside before tapping home.

Kane uncharacteristically headed a Foden free kick wide and Declan Rice hit the post as Slovakia were pinned deep in their own half late on, though England seemed to lack belief as their fans grew ever more frustrated.

But Bellingham, a day after his 21st birthday, equalised with an incredible effort to take the game to extra time with England's first shot on target.

"What an unbelievable goal, he's kept our tournament alive," Kane told ITV, describing Bellingham's goal as "one of the best in our country's history".

"You're 30 seconds away from going home, feeling like you've let your nation down, and one kick of the ball and everything's great," Bellingham said. "It's a feeling I don't want to be in but, when it comes, it's a great feeling."

England took less than a minute of extra time to take the lead when