Euro 2024: Jude Bellingham confident England’s tournament drought will end soon - 'It is coming'
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Updated 15/07/2024 at 22:21 GMT
Jude Bellingham was able to take the positives after England’s painful 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Not since the 1966 World Cup have the Three Lions won a major tournament and that drought continued after Mikel Oyarzabal struck late for Spain. But Bellingham believes the calibre and age of the current crop of England stars means a title could be on the horizon.
Beaten Euro 2024 finalists England leave Berlin hotel after losing final 2-1 to Spain
Despite losing in heartbreaking fashion in the Euro 2024 final, Jude Bellingham is confident it is only a matter of time before England's men win a first major tournament since 1966.
Gareth Southgate’s side made it into a second-straight European Championship final but were beaten by Spain after Mikel Oyarzabal’s 86th-minute winner sealed a 2-1 victory.
But Bellingham, who has just turned 21 and was one of seven players under 25 in the starting XI, thinks England’s time is on the horizon.
“It’s a young team - a lot of potential,” he said. “I know people will be frustrated that we haven’t delivered yet but I definitely feel it is coming.”
He added: “To be sucker-punched with the late goal, it’s heartbreaking. We all wanted nothing more than to make history and to make the people of England proud and we didn’t quite deliver.
“It’s a young group still and it’s really disappointing because at some point we do have to deliver but there are experiences we can take from this tournament. The thing is about this team - and we showed it throughout - is that we’re never going to quit.”
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'To lose in that way is really cruel' - Bellingham after England lost to Spain in Euro 2024 final
England fell behind 70 seconds into the second half when Nico Williams found the net but bounced back, as they did so often in the tournament, when Cole Palmer equalised in the 73rd minute.
But rather than push on, England allowed Spain to regain control and eventually make the decisive breakthrough.
In the aftermath, both Southgate and Harry Kane admitted fatigue played its part at the end of a long season, and those thoughts were echoed by Bellingham, who won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid in his 42nd club game of the season before joining up with the rest of the England squad in Germany.
“We sacrificed a lot throughout the last weeks,” he said. “It’s so tough with crazy schedules and then coming together for the end of the season for one last tournament.
“It’s difficult on the body - mentally and physically you are exhausted. But for our country we wanted to give everything. To lose in that way is really cruel.”
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