England Euro 2024 LIVE: Latest news and updates as Jude Bellingham faces possible ban over gesture

The Trent Alexander-Arnold Experiment is dead. Time for another Trent Alexander-Arnold Experiment. Liverpool’s vice-captain seems a misunderstood, underused talent at international level. His time in midfield spanned 123 minutes against Serbia and Denmark and was of sufficient importance, such a scientific voyage of discovery, that it assumed a status of its own. It was an ‘Experiment’.

That it has been deemed a failure was apparent when Gareth Southgate worked his way through a series of partners for Declan Rice against Slovakia – Kobbie Mainoo for craft, Conor Gallagher for graft, Jude Bellingham for overhead kicks – and no scenario called for Alexander-Arnold.

Not as a midfielder anyway. But there felt a pressing need for Alexander-Arnold in his original incarnation, as the right-back revolutionary, the creator supreme, a player with a capacity to make the extraordinary happen. There appeared to be a shift in thought when Gary Neville, England’s most capped right-back until a couple of weeks ago, said it was “illegal” that Alexander-Arnold wasn’t playing. “He’s the best footballer at right-back we’ve ever seen in this country,” said Neville, a more prosaic talent recognising an extraordinary one.

Jordan Pickford lauded “golden boy” Jude Bellingham after he rescued England’s Euro 2024 campaign in the roller-coaster last-16 clash against Slovakia.

After winning Group C in unconvincing fashion, the Euro 2020 runners-up were on the brink of a humiliating exit akin to Iceland eight years ago in what would almost certainly have been Gareth Southgate’s last match.

England looked set to fail in their bid to cancel out Ivan Schranz’s opener for wily Slovakia, with Phil Foden seeing a goal ruled out for offside by the VAR, Harry Kane wasting a great chance and Declan Rice hitting a post.

But Real Madrid star Bellingham scored a jaw-dropping leveller five minutes into stoppage time, with his overhead kick followed by a Kane header early in extra time as Southgate’s side won 2-1.

Jude Bellingham faces a possible ban at Euro 2024 after Uefa opened an investigation into a gesture he made while celebrating the spectacular overhead kick scored against Slovakia in their last-16 tie on Sunday.

In the aftermath of his goal, Bellingham was seen shouting “Who else?!” as he ran over to England fans after scoring. Video showed the Real Madrid forward then kiss his hand and grab his crotch in a gesture which appeared to be directed towards the side of the pitch.

“I had belief right the way through that we’d get the goal. I didn’t think it would be as late as it was. I wasn’t ready to go home yet and clearly the players felt the same way.”

There was a minute left to run on Gareth Southgate’s reign, the clock ticking down on a dismal tournament that seemed a demoralising end to the second-finest tenure of any England manager.

Until an airborne Jude Bellingham intervened. Until Bellingham underlined that he has that combination of talent, technique and temperament to offer the promise of greatness. There had been reasons for Southgate to replace him: booked for a rash lunge at Lukas Haraslin, he had been unwise enough to lay his hands on the referee. He had endured a poor game.

But there was an instance of brilliance; a bicycle kick, an injury-time equaliser, a lifeline, a goal that may reshape England’s history as well as Southgate’s time in charge.

There was a minute left to run on Gareth Southgate’s reign, the clock ticking down on a dismal tournament that seemed a demoralising end to the second-finest tenure of any England manager.

Until an airborne Jude Bellingham intervened. Until Bellingham underlined that he has that combination of talent, technique and temperament to offer the promise of greatness. There had been reasons for Southgate to replace him: booked for a rash lunge at Lukas Haraslin, he had been unwise enough to lay his hands on the referee. He had endured a poor game.

But there was an instance of brilliance; a bicycle kick, an injury-time equaliser, a lifeline, a goal that may reshape England’s history as well as Southgate’s time in charge.