England advanced to the quarterfinals of the European Championship after Jude Bellingham scored a stunning overhead kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark a comeback 2-1 win after extra time against Slovakia on Sunday.
Bellingham’s acrobatic overhead kick leveled the round-of-16 game at 1-1 with seconds remaining at the Veltins Arena.
Harry Kane headed in the winner in the first minute of extra time as England avoided one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Euros.
Ivan Schranz scored in the first half for Slovakia and his goal looked like being enough to eliminate England, which was one of the pre-tournament favorites and runner up at the last Euros.
But Bellingham’s wonder goal sent the game to extra time and Kane sealed the win and a place in the quarterfinals where England will play Switzerland in Duesseldorf.
For so long it looked like being one of the most humbling defeats England had ever suffered — bringing back memories of its elimination at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016.
Boos rang around the stadium in the first half as frustration grew among fans after Slovakia took the lead through Schranz’s goal in the 25th minute.
England – ranked fifth – dominated the second half in search of an equalizer and hit the post through Declan Rice’s long range effort late on. Phil Foden had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR and Kane missed a golden opportunity when heading wide from close range.
Spain 4, Georgia 1
Spain recovered from conceding an early own-goal to beat Georgia for a spot in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, ending one of the tournament’s most compelling underdog stories.
Goals from midfielders Rodri and Fabián Ruiz brought Spain back into the game after Robin Le Normand’s own-goal in the 18th minute had given Georgia a shock lead. Nico Williams and Dani OImo took the game out of Georgia’s reach with two more goals late in the game as heavy rain fell.
After the final whistle, Williams and the 16-year-old Lamine Yamal met up on the field for an impromptu game of rock-paper-scissors, apparently over who got to drink first from a water bottle.
It was a moment that summed up the unpredictability and sense of fun in a Spain team which had previously been prone to retreating into an unthreatening passing game, as in its loss to Morocco at the same stage of the 2022 World Cup.
Facing Georgia was a test of Spain’s nerves, Rodri said.
“It was a tough game. We knew it before. Maybe they don’t have the big names, but they made it hard for us,” he said, adding that his goal “was key because we were a bit jittery at that point… We have things to improve.”
His own performance won praise from Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who called Rodri “a walking computer, a perfect computer” in Spain’s midfield, in translated comments.
Spain will play host nation Germany in the quarterfinals on Friday in Stuttgart.
