- England toiled in dour 0-0 against Slovenia in final group game at Euro 2024
- Frustration boiled over for Jude Bellingham, who lambasted team-mates
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: This is a poorly coached team! Are England sleepwalking towards an early exit?
Jude Bellingham’s frustration boiled over during England’s insipid stalemate against Slovenia, with the midfielder unleashing an expletive-laden tirade towards his team-mates.
Footage shared by ITV on X showed the Real Madrid star losing his rag and lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman has deciphered, at least in part, what he shouted.
Freeman says Bellingham yells: ‘F***ing pass’ twice in the clip.
There are two verbal barrages from the 20-year-old towards the end of the first half and Freeman believes he says: ‘Hey, genuinely put in a f***ing pass.’ And then follows up with: ‘It’s a bit late to control, f***ing pass.’
The incident happened towards the end of the first half following a corner and it is unclear if Bellingham’s rant was directed towards anyone specifically or was a general moan.
It appeared to be in the wake of a corner following a Harry Kane shot from range when Bellingham was in the box, it’s unclear whether his ire was targeted at the striker or Kieran Trippier for his delivery from the set-piece.
Bellingham’s eyes are not fixed on one target for the duration of his rant and he threw his arms outwards before turning around to face the Slovenia goal again.
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Bellingham’s annoyance mirrored the feelings of plenty of fans in the stadium, who were put through another listless, lifeless England display – albeit with a point helping them finish top of the group.
Despite Bellingham’s exasperation at team-mates, his own performance dipped below his high standards on Tuesday night.
His duel percentage won (22%) was the lowest on the team and he also lost possession 16 times, which was the most on the team.
Having been one of the stand-out performers in the opening game, scoring a header against Serbia, the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund man has been surprisingly anonymous.
It wasn’t just the defensive side of his game lacking. Bellingham failed to have a single shot or create a single chance against one of the tournament’s minnows.
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The lacklustre display of the team drew anger from travelling England fans and cups were even thrown at manager Gareth Southgate.
Many applauded but others booed and the FA are now set to be fined for the behaviour of some in the stands.
So uninspiring was England’s performance that one fan even fell asleep in the stands.
Freddie Hahn, a 32-year-old from Crawley, captured the mood of the nation after he was pictured slumped in his seat in Cologne.
Few could blame him as chances were few and far between. England and Bellingham will hope for vast improvements in the knockout stages, especially as they have avoided the heavy-hitters Germany, Portugal, Spain and France on one side of the draw.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
