England 2-1 slovakia (aet): Bellingham and Harry Kane turned around a dire situation to propel Gareth Southgate's side into the euro 2024 quarter-finals against switzerland.

 

It's a moment when all the hard work pays off and perhaps helps England find their true worth as a team.

Gareth Southgate's side had to subject everyone to their worst performance of his tenure, which seemed to spell doom for him, but it at least led to one of the biggest moments of the tournament. Thanks in part to Jude Bellingham's divine intervention, they maintained their place in Euro 2024 after a narrow 2-1 victory in extra time against Slovakia. "Who else?" the 21-year-old said as he celebrated the dramatic 95th-minute winner. What else can you do? What better way to provide a saving grace than with a spectacular overhead kick in the final seconds of a match? To say it was something that came out of nowhere would be an understatement, given that perhaps the entire Southgate era was saved, and that too by poor individual and collective performances.

That's why the coach kept Bellingham on the team. He can do it, and England should do it more often. It may be a turning point for Ford and Real Madrid. This is a potential effect of these moments and a way to illuminate the team. That strength was certainly felt in the stadium, as was the sense of relief.

The impact was seen on both sides. Slovakia recovered from their disappointment and soon had to save a free-kick, but a newly energised England side fell short as substitute Ivan Toney smashed in Harry Kane for the winner. Perhaps, in yet another impactful moment, the Captain needed it more than anyone else. Perhaps he now has more purpose and life. Instead of despondency, there was new hope for what would happen next.

On an evening with so much history swirling around and Southgate so close to being part of the national team's footballing past, there were obvious precedents to draw on. One of them, in a tournament where discussion was already underway about how England would progress in the second half of the season, was David Platt's extra-time winning goal against Belgium at the same stage of the 1990 World Cup. That goal was equally as memorable as this one. Could this be similar?

The fact that all of this is being said in the context of such an impressive victory shows how much there is still to change. Goals won't magically solve everything, and England's quarter-final opponents Switzerland will be watching this and identifying potential weaknesses they can exploit all over the field. Perhaps this victory is not a fatal moment but merely a delay of the as yet inevitable. Perhaps it is a preparation for the worst, not a salvation. It completely depends on the solutions of Southgate from this moment. Now he must undoubtedly accept this system, simply does not work.

It is when the players are in this mentality that they can lose the game, and that is when they were at their worst.

There were huge gaps all over the field, especially in front of the exposed defense. This is not the fault of any individual player, it's simply a statement that this is the result of something going wrong. Almost nothing works. Declan Rice, despite multiple bookings, found himself 15 metres from where he should have been when he scored Slovakia's goal.

The move that scored the goal had also been attempted minutes earlier. This allowed Ondrej Duda to comfortably win a duel with the slow-looking Foden, and Juraj Kucka won the ball, but his fitness and David Strelec's agility were in question. The whole of England's defence collapsed when Kyle Walker was exposed with one pass, and Schranz came on as a substitute and could have won a penalty with a panicked, desperate challenge, only to rise and head the ball past Jordan Pickford.

It happened, and it worth it than Slovakia.

This is what Switzerland focuses. Instead, Souteite should focus on what works, although it remains uncertain.

What has succeeded, desperately pursuing a deficit with a score of 1: 0 against the weakest team in the last 16 games, is not necessary to test extremely the final quarter against the increasing Swiss team. The balance of the offense clearly needs to change, and whether that brings in Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon or both remains to be seen. Although England had improved with the introduction of his team-mate, that was not where the goals or even the pressure came from. Slovakia was relatively comfortable in the final moments of normal play, although tiring.

Rice hit the post with a long shot. Milan Skriniar was having to stretch that bit more to meet headers. England eventually won the toss and Walker scored it, a rescue moment that couldn't have been more basic but also more impressive.

Bellingham has represented a tactical issue in himself and where he goes, but he more than solved it here.

The next goal did seem inevitable. A few minutes after the match resumed in extra time, Kane scored with a header.

From that point on, England really held on, although there was another 25 minutes of pointless retreat. Some things don't change. Notice that Slovakia have given it their all, England need to find more. Nothing about their tournament seems predictable right now, at least as far as Southgate’s lineup goes. This situation must change, and Euro 2024 could very well change that.

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