Euro 2024 updates: Bellingham moment of magic saves England

Euro 2024 is coming! Our daily files give you the latest coverage of the tournament, as well as betting lines, what to look out for and the best information.

Check in with ESPN during the tournament as we bring you the latest news from Germany up to and including the final on July 14.

The Lead: Bellingham steps up when it matters most

GELSENKIRCHEN – Jude Bellingham was prepared to cast himself as England’s savior in a pre-tournament advert for Adidas and after a long wait he proved to be just that on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen.

If we’re honest, the Real Madrid midfielder had a pretty miserable game against Slovakia, lasting some 94 minutes: he ran down dead ends, floundered in possession and was often frustrated towards Turkish referee Umut Meler. His evening was a reflection of the malaise that engulfed England as a team.

But as Gareth Southgate’s side stared down the barrel of a humiliating round of 16 exit to Slovakia after Ivan Schranz’s 25th-minute opener, Bellingham reacted quickest to a Marc Guéhi tap-in and produced a stunning bicycle kick to put them back to tow. the edge and send the same into extra time with seconds left.

The England front four of Bellingham, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden have been very disappointing so far, but that magical moment is exactly why many considered them favorites for the tournament: Southgate has so many players who will play matches can determine.

Kane then joined the party in the first minute of extra time with a match-winning header in a 2-1 victory that was the product of three substitutes coming together to help him: Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Ivan Toney.

As Bellingham celebrated his equalizer, he appeared to say quietly: “Who else?”. It seemed like he knew it all along.

England must work collectively in the quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday, but they need Bellingham in inspiring form to guarantee an extension to Euro 2024. James Oley

Sights and sounds around Euro 2024

Injured Alaba impresses for Austria

David Alaba has become a key player in the Austrian league for Euro 2024 despite being left out of Ralf Rangnick’s squad due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained during his time at Real Madrid in December last year.

Austrian coach Rangnick has said that the former Bayern Munich defender “sacrificed his entire holiday” to stay with the team at their base camp in Berlin and “support the coaching staff and the players with his experience.” While the team has been training, Alaba has been working on his rehabilitation, but has also taken part in team events, including presenting Rangnick with a birthday cake on Saturday.

Last weekend, the 32-year-old indicated at a press conference how important it is for him to be with the national team, even if he cannot play.

“Of course I would prefer to be on the field,” he said. “That is completely normal and my goal, but that is not possible here now. I still try to support the team as best as possible and contribute my experience. I am also now more intensively involved in the coaching team, in video analyzes or in the preparation for matches. But every meeting with the coach is not possible because of the treatments I receive.”

Alaba is expected to return to action for Real Madrid in the autumn but said he has not yet set a date for a comeback.

“I’m getting better week by week,” he said. “I have every opportunity here to work at a top level. The rehabilitation is very intensive, sometimes very difficult, but I can work well here. I am on a very good path, but I do not put too much pressure on myself. There is no specific date when I want to be back on the field. I want to come back when I’m 100% again.” — Mark Ogden.

Portugal keeps Pepe on the ice

Portugal is doing everything they can to keep Pepê fit for the matches. For example, they let the 41-year-old defender use ice baths for the first time after the matches.

The FC Porto centre-back continues to play a key role for his national team despite a career that spans almost 900 appearances for club and country. With Portugal already secured top spot in Group F, he was rested for the final match against Georgia, but is expected to start against Slovenia in the round of 16 on Monday and extend his record as the oldest player to play at a European Championship in only his fifth appearance at the tournament.

“The physiotherapists say that the machines are basically mine, but it is so that I can recover as quickly as possible,” Pepe told a press conference on Saturday. “I know I don’t recover as quickly as a 20-year-old, but I try to do my best to always be available for my coach.” — Rob Dawson

Statistics of the day

Kobbie Mainoo (19 years, 72 days) is the third-youngest player to start a knockout match for England at a major tournament (World Cup/Euro), after Michael Owen vs Argentina in 1998 (18 years, 198 days) and Wayne Rooney vs Portugal in 2004 (18 years, 244 days). — Opta

Match Previews for Monday

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Why Belgium must be perfect to beat France

Julien Laurens believes Belgium must play the perfect game to have any chance of beating France, despite their own problems.

France vs. Belgium (Dusseldorf; 6:00 p.m. local time / 12:00 p.m. ET)

Odds (via ESPN BET): France -110, Draw +220, Belgium +350

And they meet again! Six years after the epic semi-final of the 2018 World Cup (1-0 victory for France after a Samuel Umtiti header) and three years after a spectacular semi-final of the Nations League (3-2 victory for France thanks to a late winner from Theo Hernández) are ready to revive their old rivalry on Monday.

It was 120 years ago when they first met in their first international match and since then the derby has been more a French affair than anything else. But despite past dominance, Didier Deschamps and his players know they can’t take anything for granted. Kevin De Bruyne & Co. performed under Domenico Tedesco. mediocre in this tournament and are due a good performance after a disappointing group stage. But Kylian Mbappe and his teammates are also expected to raise their game.

Under Deschamps, France have always been ruthless in knockout matches, having not lost a match of more than 90 minutes since 2014. The head coach has used the past few days to bring his group together and get them in the right mindset to unleash their potential. — Julien Laurens

Portugal vs. Slovenia (Frankfurt; 9:00 PM local / 3:00 PM ET)

Odds: Portugal -270, Draw +380, Slovenia +750

Portugal are big favourites to progress beyond Slovenia, but some fans are concerned they are exactly the type of team that could cause them problems.

In a friendly match between the two teams in March, Portugal had almost 70% possession but managed just two shots on target as Slovenia won 2–0 and handed Roberto Martinez his first defeat as coach. Portugal, who rested players but still included Pepê, Diogo Dalot, João Cancelo, João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo, found Slovenia’s deep, compact defense difficult to break and were caught on the counter – just as Georgia found success against that of Martinez. team in their group stage win in Gelsenkirchen.

Ronaldo is expected to start against Slovenia in Frankfurt, two years after he was sensationally knocked out of the round of 16 by Portugal at the Qatar World Cup by Switzerland. The 39-year-old is still searching for his first goal of Euro 2024. — Dawson.

Betting Tip (odds via ESPN BET)

Cristiano Ronaldo may be struggling, but Portugal can turn to star midfielder Bruno Fernandes, and if he scores a goal and also provides an assist against Slovenia, the odds are +550 — ESPN

One big lecture

He was a shock inclusion in France’s Euro 2024 squad after a 24-month absence from international football, but N’Golo Kante has returned with a bang and is one of the biggest stories of the tournament so far.

The last time the 33-year-old played for Les Blues (before the Euro 2024 warm-up matches) was in a 2-1 Nations League defeat to Denmark in June 2022. He then missed the match due to a serious hamstring injury. 2022 World Cup in Qatar and 90% of the 2022-2023 season at Chelsea. Then, his move to Saudi side Al Ittihad in the summer of 2023 pushed him further out of the spotlight and many wondered if we would ever see the action-packed midfielder play for his country again.

Before travelling to Germany, Kante outclassed everyone else in the squad during physical tests. And as if anyone needed reminding of his quality, his performances in training quickly convinced his team-mates.

In the first two games of Euro 2024, against Austria (1-0) and the Netherlands (0-0), Kante won the Man of the Match award on both occasions. He ran more than anyone else on the pitch, won the ball more than anyone else and won more duels than anyone else. He was everywhere.

– Laurens: Kanté is back, better than ever, and France desperately needs him

And finally …

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Gab Marcotti slams Italy after Euro 2024 elimination

Gab Marcotti is not shy in his assessment of Italy’s performance after their 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in the round of 16 of Euro 2024.

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It was to be expected, but when I read the Italian papers on Sunday morning after reigning champions Italy had lost 2-0 to Switzerland, which meant they were already knocked out in the round of 16, it was quite intense.

“A lost cause” (a disgrace) was the headline in Corriere dello Sport.

For Tuttosport it was “Nazi autumn“(‘national failure’, or ‘failure of the national team’, as National is also one of the nicknames of the Azzurri).

There was “Disgust and anger” from Corriere della Sera, while the cover of Gazzetta dello Sport was “What a humiliation!” The newspaper also called for “everything to be rebuilt” and said that “the time for excuses is over.”

In their editorial, the tone is just as aggressive as in the others: “Two years thrown in the bin. The flop against North Macedonia (defeat in the play-offs of the 2022 World Cup), the farewell of (Roberto) Mancini and now Switzerland: Italy has lost itself.”

Naturally, all the media in the country have been heavily critical of the players and manager Luciano Spalletti.

The coach, who will remain in charge after the tournament, was accused of getting too many things wrong, namely “his tactics, his choices, the preparation”, according to Gazzetta.

But La Repubblica did its best with a cooking metaphor: ‘The pasta carbonara, you can do it if you have eggs, guanciale (some cured meat) and pecorino (some hard cheese made from sheep’s milk). If you only have garlic and a little oil, you have to change the recipe. But no, he didn’t get that. — Laurens