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JUDE Bellingham’s last-gasp equaliser spared England a second successive Wembley defeat after defensive errors threatened to cost them dearly in the friendly against Belgium.
Having lost at home to Brazil, Gareth Southgate’s reshuffled side were a mixed bag.
They showed promise up front but vulnerability at the back, which was punished ruthlessly by Belgium before Bellingham’s dramatic intervention seconds from time.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a rare error, his first to cost a goal in 60 international appearances, when his poor clearance led to Youri Tielemans putting Belgium ahead after 11 minutes.
Ivan Toney marked his first England start with the equaliser from the spot six minutes later, opening his international account after he had been brought down by veteran Jan Vertonghen.
Jarrod Bowen had a close-range header ruled out for offside, before another England error saw Belgium restore their lead nine minutes before the break.
Lewis Dunk’s mistake allowed Romelu Lukaku to provide the perfect cross for Tielemans to head in at the far post.
England, with 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo making an excellent first England start, had chances of their own with Bellingham twice off target when he should have done better and Phil Foden driving across the face of goal when well placed.
Belgium keeper Matz Sels saved well from Bowen before Bellingham made amends for his earlier misses when he drove home a low finish with virtually the last kick of the game to give England a deserved draw.
Mainoo & Toney stake claims
Manchester United midfielder Mainoo may just have solved one of manager Southgate’s big conundrums with a performance of maturity and quality on his first England start.
Southgate is still searching for the perfect midfield combination and Mainoo showed the confidence that has marked his performances at United this season and was assured throughout before he was substituted.
The combination of Mainoo and Declan Rice playing behind the roaming Bellingham looks an attractive one and the youngster must surely be on the plane to Germany at least, perhaps even a starter.
Brentford striker Toney also did his chances no harm in the battle with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins to go to Euro 2024 as Harry Kane’s understudy with a fine display, showing good touches and his usual calmness from the penalty spot to score his first England goal.
It was not such a good night for Brighton defender Dunk, who made another mistake leading to Belgium’s second goal, having also been involved in Brazil’s winner in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly loss.
Dunk now faces the agonising prospect of missing out on selection for Germany. It has not been a good international break for the centre-back who has performed with such distinction for Brighton.
West Ham United forward Bowen was another England stand-out performer, but he faces an anxious wait to see whether he can force his way into the squad in a position where there is so much competition.
Bellingham, though, once again demonstrated what a power he will be for England in the tournament.
He may have missed chances he would normally have scored but he was a driving force, refusing to give up, eventually earning Southgate’s side the draw their performance merited.
The international break may well have cleared up a few questions for Southgate about the make-up of his defence, midfield and attack when he names his party for Germany – and for that alone it has been a worthwhile exercise.
‘I know people will be negative’ – what they said
Bellingham told Channel 4: “I liked it because I know the rubbish we would have got if we lost two games on the bounce.
“These are two games that are going to stand us in good stead going into the Euros. I know people will be negative but you have to take these games for what they are.
“You’ve got to keep perspective. We had a lot of lads making debuts [this week] and a lot of lads I’ve never played with. We created a lot of chances. I should have scored [previously]. I was happy I could make it up to the team.”
Southgate: “Jude, of course, is the headline. That competitive spirit, that desire not to lose, desire to win in the end, was decisive in getting the late goal.
“But I thought the whole team showed that throughout the game and recovered from setbacks with a pretty inexperienced team, really, against a team that have got some very, very good players. Very pleased with a lot of what I saw tonight.”
BBC
27th March, 2024.
C.E.
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