England’s uninspiring play at Euro 2024 continued on Sunday during a grueling Round of 16 game against Slovakia. It sure seemed like the Three Lions, a heavy tournament favorite, would really be upset by the massive underdog from Central Europe.
Then superstar midfielder Jude Bellingham had a say. Because of course he did.
With England fighting for its tournament life in the last moments of stoppage time, Bellingham got off an incredible bicycle kick that found the back of the net and tied the game at 1-1. Given the stakes, it will likely be remembered as one of the greatest goals in English history.
You can hardly blame English announcer Ian Darke for losing his mind over Bellingham’s remarkable “rescue.”
“Jude Bellingham! A rescue! It had to be him, didn’t it?”
Any time you see Bellingham, one of the best players in the world, play like a star when their team needs him most, you should count yourself lucky. And any time you can hear someone like Darke capture the moment perfectly, you know you’re living large as a soccer fan.
Mere moments later, in extra time — 192 seconds to be exact — Harry Kane gave England the lead on a header:
If the English go on to win, this stunning two-goal sequence from Bellingham and Kane will be firmly etched as one of the most iconic moments the Euros have ever seen.
The England captain wants to go from kicking round balls to oblong ones
Harry Kane has said he would like to be an NFL kicker when his days of kicking a soccer ball are through.
The Tottenham striker and avid American football fan appeared on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, telling ex-NFL star Michael Strahan that he’s hopeful he can transition from kicking balls into a net to kicking balls through a goal post one day.
“It’s something I want to definitely explore,” Kane said. “I know it’d be a lot of hard work. I’m not expecting to just rock up and start kicking field goals. It’d be a lot of practice, a lot of hard work but yeah, it’s something I’d love to do. I’ve been following the NFL for about 10 years now and I love it. So I’d love to give it a go.”
.@HKane says he wants to âexploreâ life as an @NFL kicker after the Premier League: âIt's something I'd love to do.â âœïžâĄïžđ pic.twitter.com/w1z3EO35SI
The England captain has previously spoken about his desire to play in the NFL one day, telling ESPN in 2019 that he was hopeful his experience in high-pressure situations in his soccer career could benefit him as a kicker.
“Of course, there’s a lot of technically very gifted players in the NFL kicking, a lot of players can kick it far and high, but I guess it all comes down to who can handle the pressure the best and I feel like the more I watch it, the more I see that in the big situations,” Kane said.
“A lot of times the game goes down to a last minute field goal, last second field goal. So I’d like to think my experience of dealing with that in soccer would put me maybe at an advantage compared to some of the other guys who haven’t had that experience, maybe coming out of college or things like that.”
Sean Dyche with an acerbic reflection on Abdoulaye Doucoureâs red card. âI thought at one point he (Harry Kane) might have snapped an eyelash, which would have been tragic. Abdoulaye certainly didnât have to speak to the group to say anything.â
The striker scored just before halftime to reach 54 all-time England goals
Harry Kane has made history.
Kane scored a 44th-minute penalty in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy on Thursday, becoming the England men’s national team’s all-time leading scorer with his 54th career goal, breaking Wayne Rooney’s record.
The Tottenham star tied the record in the World Cup quarterfinal against France with a penalty. He had the chance to break the record later in the game, but skied a second penalty over the bar as the Three Lions were eliminated from the tournament with a 2-1 defeat.
But Kane would make no such mistake at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples, giving England a 2-0 lead in its first game after the World Cup.
The striker broke Rooney’s record in his 81st cap and, at age 29, looks likely to add plenty more to the new record before all is said and done.
Even before Thursday, Kane already owned plenty of England scoring records.
54 – Harry Kane has the @England men's record for:
Goals scored (54) Goals as captain (46) Goals via penalties (18) Goals in a single year (16 in 2021) Goals in major tournaments (12)
Kane scored his first England goal on his first cap, a March 2015 match against Lithuania.
Watch Kane’s record-breaking goal
HE'S DONE IT! đ
Harry Kane has now scored more goals for England than any other player in men's national team's history, breaking Wayne Rooney's record (54) đŽó §ó ąó „ó źó §ó ż pic.twitter.com/SpTBZcspti
It was a pretty bad time to rifle an equalizing PK over the crossbar.
England had its chances in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar. But like Christiano Ronaldo and Portugal, the British are going home.
After Olivier Giroud scored the go-ahead goal for France in the 78th minute, England had a chance to equalize just moments later when Theo Hernandez committed a foul in the box. Stepping up to the spot for England in the crucial moment against goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was Harry Kane â who had just buried a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
But this time, Kaneâs penalty kick was off by a wide margin. He rifled his right-footed attempt well over the crossbar and into the stands.
But England fans watching back home were distraught. At this watch party that Fox Sports shared a clip from, screams and gasps can easily be heard as Kane misfired on the kick.
England added to its feeling of heartbreak when, at the death of the match, it missed on another game-tying opportunity.
In the 100th minute, Marcus Rashford lined up for a free kick from just outside the top of the semicircle. His right-footed attempt was so close that it went just over the crossbar before banging off the back stanchion of the net.
With the 2-1 victory, France becomes the first defending champ of the menâs World Cup to advance to the semifinals since 1998. And with Franceâs victory, the semifinals are set: France will face Morocco â an unlikely Cinderella â on Wednesday, while Argentina will take on Croatia on Tuesday. Among the teams remaining, the odds are in Franceâs favor to repeat as champs. The menâs World Cup has not seen a team win back-to-back crowns since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Since winning the World Cup in 1966, England has advanced past the quarterfinals just twice, 1990 and 2018. It finished in fourth place both times.
Musah: “I have a lot of respect for (England) for everything they’ve done for me”
The U.S. men’s national team won’t face anyone at this World Cup that they’re as connected to as England, their opponent in Friday’s much-anticipated Group B meeting.
There are the basic connections that most fans can rattle off: eight USMNT players ply their trade with English clubs, and several of them will be standing across from club teammates. Christian Pulisic will see three familiar faces from Chelsea, while Arsenal’s Matt Turner will see the same number of club colleagues suiting up for the Three Lions. At Borussia Dortmund, Gio Reyna often lines up right next to England playmaker Jude Bellingham.
The intertwined nature of these teams goes deeper on the USMNT side, though, as three players (Cameron Carter-Vickers, Yunus Musah, and Antonee Robinson) were raised in the UK, and speak with English accents.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Carter-Vickers â born in England but eligible for the USMNT through his father, who hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana â laughed as he noted that in his family, “half of them want us to win, and half want England to win.”
Sitting alongside the Celtic center back, Turner acknowledged another important factor: most USMNT fans are regularly watching the Premier League, boosting the desire to measure up to England on the field.
“There’s definitely a tremendous respect from the people of America of English soccer,” said Turner. “It’s the [league] that I grew up watching when I got a little bit older.”
“I think for me, it’s a game that I really want to win, just like any other game in the World Cup,” said Carter-Vickers. “To be honest, I’m not too sure how I’m gonna feel when when the game comes around, but you know, I do know that I’ll be doing everything I can to try and help the team win.”
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Musah, who played for English youth national teams, shared a similar thought. “I don’t know how I’m gonna feel that day. But yeah, it’s a special game for sure, because I played on both sides, and to be able to be on the pitch with the same national team I used to play with is just special.”
Musah came up in Gareth Southgate’s pre-match remarks as well, as the England manager mischievously credited Gregg Berhalter for his “talent identification,” noting that the USMNT had successfully lobbied the Valencia midfielder to play for the United States despite his youth national team history with the Three Lions. “He obviously took [Musah], which we werenât very happy about. Fair play.”
Musah called that choice “difficult,” adding that “it was a really nice time with [England]. I have a lot of respect for them for everything they’ve done for me.”
USMNT respects Saka, Kane, Bellingham
Turner, like Musah, is very familiar with England’s Bukayo Saka. Turner sees him with Arsenal on a regular basis, while Musah trained with him for years in the Gunners’ academy system. Both underlined the threat they know is coming from the 21-year-old, who had a brace against Iran.
“He’s one of the young stars of world football,” explained Turner. “He’s a top, top player, and I think you don’t need me to tell anybody on our team how much of a threat that he poses in the game. He’s scoring goals in a variety of ways.”
Musah agreed, and added that Bellingham â his teammate at the youth national team level â is in the same category. “You can see what they’re doing week-in, week-out, and they’re producing at the World Cup as well,” said Musah. “We’re gonna have to be on our game on Friday.”
“I think it’ll be difficult,” Carter-Vickers said of a reunion with the Spurs forward. “He’s a top player, you know, they’ve got a squad full of top players. So, I think we all know that we have to put in one of our best performances to beat them.”
Harry Kane went down in the second half after a heavy challenge from Morteza Pouraliganji. He was treated on the field and was able to continue playing before being withdrawn later in the half.
England manager Gareth Southgate didn’t sound too worried about his star forward following Monday’s game saying: âI think Harryâs fine. It looked a bad tackle but he carried on in the game.
âWe took him off really because we felt it was a moment we could do that.”
But any issue that comes up in the scan could see Kane miss out on England’s next game in Group B, a high-profile showdown against the United States on Friday.
Kane’s absence would be a boost for the USMNT, which will be looking for a result after starting its World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Wales on Monday.
But even without Kane finding the net, the Three Lions showed they have plenty of firepower against Iran, with Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish all scoring.
Son Heung-Min’s slow start to the Premier League season appears to be over.
Son, who was rotated to the bench by Antonio Conte after starting the season with only one goal contribution in Tottenham’s first eight games, produced a hat trick anyway as Spurs clobbered Leicester City 6-2 on Saturday.
Richarlison got the start for Tottenham over Son, but a wild first half saw Leicester take the lead on a twice-taken Youri Tielemans penalty, only to see Harry Kane and Eric Dier put Spurs ahead by the 21st minute (with both Tottenham goals coming on corner kicks).
Leicester equalized through a James Maddison stunner, but the second half was all Spurs. Rodrigo Betancur put them ahead in the 47th minute, and Son made his way into the match 12 minutes later.
Son notched his first goal in transition, showing supreme confidence. Spurs forced a midfield turnover and the South Korea international found himself one-on-two on the counter. With help not exactly arriving at the speed required, Son called his own number, freezing both Leicester defenders before feinting right and sending a rocket past Danny Ward.
His second was even better. Leicester had numbers back, but Kane still found a seam to pass to Son, in the right half-space. From 23 yards and with no one in blue opting to close him down, Son went to his less-preferred left foot to fire a gorgeous curling shot just inside the post, sending the home fans into rapture.
Leicester threw numbers forward in search of any positivity to take away in the final minutes, but that just meant another Spurs counter set Son up to claim the match ball. Pierre-Emile HĂžjbjerg led the break before sending Son, who had gone wide left, in alone to tuck the ball under Ward.
The goal was initially called back for offside, but after a minute-long VAR check, that call was overturned, giving Son his third Premier League hat trick.
“I couldnât believe it,” Son told the BBC about his extremely calm reaction to scoring his first goal of the year. “All the frustration and what I had, disappointment and negative feeling just went (away). I couldnât move so I stood still. It made me really happy.”
“I was really frustrated as well,” added Son. “I can do much better than I have been. I have been disappointed, the team has been doing really, really good but I was disappointed with my (recent) performance.”
Watch Son’s amazing hat trick for Spurs
Heung-Min Son gets his first goal of the season with this SCREAMER! đ #COYS
“I think maybe it’s a bit disrespectful for the other club”
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has called Bayern Munich’s public flirtation with a move for Harry Kane “disrespectful.”
Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann and CEO Oliver Kahn both hinted at their club’s interest in the Spurs striker last week, which clearly rankled with Conte.
Speaking at a press conference over the weekend, Conte said: “For sure I’m a coach who doesn’t talk about players from other teams.
“I don’t know why [this happened]. The situation at Tottenham is very clear. The plan is very clear with the club. Harry is a part of the project. He is a very important part of the project and yeah, only rumors.
“At the same time, I don’t like to speak about players from another club. If I want to do something I go to speak to the club, not through the media.
“I think maybe it’s a bit disrespectful for the other club. This is my way. This is my way to face the situation with other players.”
What did Bayern say about Kane?
“He’s very expensive that’s the problem – but a brilliant player,” Nagelsmann said at a press conference. “He could score a lot in the Bundesliga, I don’t know the price, but it’s really tough for Bayern Munich. We’ll see what happens in the future.”
Speaking to Bild, Kahn said of Bayern’s reported interest in Kane: âHe’s under contract with Tottenham. Sure, an absolute top striker, but that’s all a dream of the future.”
He added: “Now we have to look at getting the squad together for the current season. Let’s see what else happens.”
Kane, who nearly moved to Man City last summer before the transfer fell through at the last minute, has a contract with Spurs through 2024.
Manchester City will host Chelsea in Premier League action in what will be a preview of the Champions League Final at the end of the month
Manchester City will host Chelsea in Premier League action in what will be a preview of the Champions League Final at the end of the month
Manchester City has been unstoppable as of late and is coming off a big 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their last match, while Chelsea has been in great form as well, knocking off Real Madrid by the score of 3-1 to advance.
This should be an entertaining match on Saturday, here is everything you need to know to stream the action!
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Mendy; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Zouma, Rudiger, Christensen; James, Jorginho, Kante, Alonso; Mount, Pulisic; Havertz
Premier League Odds and betting lines
Premier League odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds last updated Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Manchester City (+105) vs. Chelsea (+300)
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