England 2-2 Belgium: Jude Bellingham struck at the death to salvage England a deserved draw against Belgium on a night of impressive auditions in the final match before Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 selection
Jude Bellingham late goal secures draw
Jude Bellingham came to England’s rescue with a last-minute equaliser, sparing them from a second consecutive Wembley defeat in a friendly against Belgium, where defensive lapses threatened to derail their efforts.
After a disappointing loss to Brazil, Gareth Southgate’s revamped lineup displayed both promise and vulnerability. While showing attacking potential, they struggled defensively, which Belgium capitalised on before Bellingham’s late heroics.
England’s usually reliable goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a rare blunder, his first in 60 international appearances, as his poor clearance led to Youri Tielemans opening the scoring for Belgium after just 11 minutes.
Ivan Toney, in his debut start for England, levelled the score from the penalty spot six minutes later, notching his first international goal after being brought down by the experienced Jan Vertonghen.
Although Jarrod Bowen had a close-range header disallowed for offside, another defensive mistake from England allowed Belgium to retake the lead nine minutes before halftime. Lewis Dunk’s error led to Romelu Lukaku setting up Tielemans for a headed goal.
Despite promising performances, including an impressive debut from 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, England squandered chances. Bellingham missed the target twice when well-placed and Phil Foden failed to convert from a good position.
Belgium goalkeeper Matz Sels denied Bowen with a fine save before Bellingham redeemed himself for his earlier misses, slotting home a late equaliser with virtually the last kick of the game, ensuring England salvaged a deserved draw.
England vs Belgium: What the game tells us about Euros 2024?
Whilst a loss and a draw seem worrying on paper, there are many positives to take from England’s latest international camp.
England suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Brazil, in a game that stats show were fairly even. Both teams had key players out with injury and a fair few uncapped players had to step up. It’s a great way to see the depth on the bench but can also be a massive occasion.
The Belgium game saw a lot more flair from England, who for large parts, played excellent football. The game highlighted England’s biggest weakness – defence. With John Stones going off injured, it only added to the defensive woes with relatively inexperienced Lewis Dunk coming on.
England conceded two goals simply came down to two clear defensive errors – one from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the other from Dunk.
The latest Wembley match proved that England has depth when it comes to attacking football but something needs to be done to strengthen the defensive players as key defenders John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker all injured.
England can win the Euros with this group, and they should.