Jude Bellingham scored at the death to salvage a 2-2 draw for England at Wembley on Tuesday after Youri Tielemans scored twice for Belgium in the final match before Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 selection.
Injured England – among the favorites to win the Euros in Germany – were brilliant in attack, but Tielemans took advantage of defensive errors.
The Aston Villa midfielder scored an opener after a poor error from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and headed home a second later in the first half after Ivan Toney equalized from the penalty spot.
Belgium survived a succession of English attacks and looked certain to hold on in front of more than 80,000 fans before Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham struck deep into injury time.
The draw is a welcome boost for England after their 1-0 defeat to Brazil at Wembley on Saturday – their first defeat since the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.
Finally broke my Wembley curse.😤 Proud of the way this team responded to all the setbacks this week. See you in summer!🤍 pic.twitter.com/sg0rhXlBZj
– Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) March 26, 2024
“Jude of course grabs the headlines and that competitive spirit, that desire not to lose, that desire to win in the end, was decisive in scoring the late goal,” England manager Southgate said.
“But I thought the whole team showed it throughout the game and bounced back from the setbacks with a pretty inexperienced team.”
Southgate faced numerous absences during the March international window and his problems were compounded when defender John Stones was forced off early in rain-swept London, replaced by Joe Gomez.
BELLINGHAM’S GOAL FOR ENGLAND pic.twitter.com/epUb9jMeqJ
– َ (@thesdaisy) March 26, 2024
The manager, when asked who would be available for the Euros, which start in June, said he was “lost”.
“The great thing is that some players have come out positively from the opportunities they have had and so maybe we have more depth in one area, but the injuries are a concern,” he added.
“We are missing so many players right now and we still have the real heat of the season ahead… we won’t know what we have left until the end.”
Tielemans leaps
Jordan Pickford buys tickets for Youri Tielemans! 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/edAC05tBDu
– S Sport Plus (@ssportplustr) March 26, 2024
Belgium, itself without injured Kevin De Bruyne, took the lead in the 11th minute in bizarre fashion.
Pickford attempted to play a crossfield pass when out of position, but was only able to spot Everton team-mate Amadou Onana, who released Tielemans and the midfielder calmly slipped into the bottom corner.
But the home side were level six minutes later when Manchester United starlet Kobbie Mainoo, making his first international start, linked up with Bellingham before the Real Madrid defender fed Toney, who was tripped by Jan Vertonghen.
Toney, leading the attack in the absence of captain Harry Kane, took the resulting penalty himself, casually pushing the ball away to make the score 1-1.
With the game opening, Jeremy Doku forced Pickford into a smart save while England striker Jarrod Bowen had a headed goal ruled out for offside.
Bellingham fluffed his lines when he fired in from close range with only goalkeeper Matz Sels to beat.
Instead, it was the visitors – fourth in the FIFA world rankings, one place below their opponents – who took the lead again, to the delight of their noisy supporters.
Lewis Dunk, playing in central defense in place of the absent Harry Maguire, failed to deal with a long ball over the top and Belgium captain Romelu Lukaku pounced.
Romelu Lukaku’dan trivela ile assist, Tielemans’tan ikinci gol! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wT7MjMie91
– S Sport Plus (@ssportplustr) March 26, 2024
The striker crossed brilliantly with the outside of his left foot, directly into the path of diving Tielemans, who headed home powerfully in the 36th minute.
The match played out in a similar fashion after the break, with England enjoying the lion’s share of possession, but the visitors remained a threat at the break.
Bellingham missed a glorious chance to equalize when he headed in from close range, but he made his last-gasp effort count in the 95th minute.
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco said he was disappointed to miss out on a “special and fantastic” victory, but admitted England were strong.
“They created many, many chances,” he said. “We had the feeling from the beginning that they wanted to win the second match of this (international) camp and that’s why I think the result is good.”
