Watch: Footage emerges of Roy Keane’s subdued reaction to Jude Bellingham’s late, late strike

Former Ireland captain finds silver linings in another limp England performance

Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time overhead kick saved England from an early exit (Adam Davy/PA)

Kevin Palmer

Roy Keane insisted England deserved to be praised for finding a way to beat Slovakia in a dramatic Euro 2024 last-16 clash in Gelsenkirchen.

Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time stunner saved Gareth Southgate’s side from an embarrassing exit as England fought back to beat Slovakia 2-1 after extra time.

A summer that promised so much looked set to end in heartbreak and humiliation for a team that went within a penalty shoot-out of winning the last edition three years ago.

Ivan Schranz put wily, well-drilled Slovakia on course for their biggest win as an independent nation, only for Bellingham to leave jaws on the floor and disbelieving players on the deck in Gelsenkirchen.

The midfielder’s overhead kick five minutes into stoppage time sent the match into extra-time, with captain Harry Kane’s header seeing Southgate’s side through this tricky last-16 clash.

When Bellingham’s trike hit the net, it sparked jubilant scenes in the ITV studio with Ian Wright and Gary Neville celebrating fervently. But that wasn’t the case for Keane, who took a rather more subdued approach!

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.

Switzerland await in the quarter-finals on Saturday and England will look to build on the spirit shown towards the end of a match that had looked set to end in a result akin to Iceland at Euro 2016.

“Sometimes after a game you reflect on it… you talk about performances, but at this level it is all about getting over the line and winning,” Keane told ITV Sport.

“Everyone wants a great performance, but they keep getting results.

“You might say the next game (against Switzerland) will be tougher and you say if they perform like they they are going to go out, but let’s see how they go.

“We were really critical at half-time, but they found a way to win. The top players stepped up. God help us when Bellingham starts playing well because he has produced two big moments.

“Again, you go back to it and they have found a way to win and they deserve credit for that.”

Former England defender Gary Neville celebrated Bellingham’s dramatic equaliser with wild screaming in the ITV studio, with Keane noticeable less enthusiastic about the golden moment.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.

Yet Neville was honest in his assessment of England’s performance, as he suggested big improvements are needed ahead of their next match against Switzerland.

“We’ve been very, very lucky and we should thank our lucky stars because we were woeful and we’ve been woeful now for four games,” said Neville.

“Not even in extra time did we play well and Slovakia were unlucky at the end.

“We’ve got to change something dramatically and Gareth will realise tonight that he was so close to the edge.”

England captain Harry Kane claimed Bellingham’s goal was one of the best scored by England in a major tournament.

“That’s the desire and attitude from the boys and staff and everyone involved," said the England skipper.

“It looked tough for a second there but we kept going. We’ve worked on so many details, we put a long throw in a couple of days ago and we said we might need it.

“Then Jude does what Jude does, it was an unbelievable goal and it kept our tournament alive.

“I think it’s one of the best (goals) in our country’s history. What a player he is. He works so hard for the team.

“There’s been a lot of talk about him in the last couple of days and it shows what he can do in the big moments, to step up and that’s what we needed everyone to do, to step up.

“We know we’ll do whatever it takes. If it’s another game like this in the quarter-finals, so be it. This team knows how to dig deep and we’ve done that today. Of course we could have done better but ultimately it’s a results business.

“We’ll enjoy the comeback and hopefully take the momentum into the rest of the tournament.”