Berlin, July 15 The 58-year long wait for England to win a major tournament continues as the Three Lions lost 1-2 vs Spain in the finals of the 2024 Euros at the Olympiastadion Berlin Stadium.
Although Jude Bellingham is just 21-years old, the Real Madrid midfielder has shown amazing maturity throughout the campaign, establishing himself as one of the leaders in the side.
"For our country we wanted to give everything and to lose in that way is really cruel. Again, we probably didn’t play our best game but there was definitely some good moments and we felt like we got back into the game and then to be sucker punched with the late goal is heartbreaking," said Jude in the post-game interview.
After a lackluster first half, Spain began the second half on the front foot and scored a goal just minutes in thanks to a well executed pass by Lamine Yamal to Nico Williams. Cole Palmer equalised the game for the side but a late dagger by Mikel Oyarzabal saw the Spaniards reclaim European glory.
"We sacrificed a lot throughout the last weeks. It’s so tough these days with the crazy schedule and then coming together at the end of the season for one last tournament is difficult on the body and mentally, physically, you’re exhausted," said the midfielder.
"We all wanted nothing more than to make history and to make the people of England proud, and we didn’t quite deliver. There’s reasons for that and I’m sure as a team going forward we’ll analyse it," he added.
England’s second consecutive trip to the final ended in heartbreak, the side had previously lost against Italy in the 2020 Euros, and the country still seeks its first ever European trophy.
It will be interesting to see what Gareth Southgate decides regarding his future in the coming days. He previously stated that he will not be continuing as the man at the helm if the side does not win the trophy, but many are hailing him to be England’s greatest ever manager given his track record.
"It’s a young group still but it’s really disappointing because at some point we do have to deliver but there are experiences and things we can take from this tournament going forward. If you look at everything negatively, nothing will ever change so it’s important we take the positives and the negatives together and find a way to one day get England over the line," he concluded.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor