Jude Bellingham seemingly took aim at England’s critics by sharing a famous quote of Theodore Roosevelt on his Instagram page after rescuing the Three Lions with a moment of magic on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate’s men were one minute away from exiting Euro 2024 when Bellingham made it 1-1 with a brilliant bicycle kick.
A goal from Harry Kane in extra-time then sealed England’s spot in the quarter-finals and kept their hopes of ending the long wait for a major trophy alive.
Bellingham and his team-mates had faced plenty of criticism after three underwhelming performances in the group stage and the Real Madrid man had clearly been listening.
The 21-year-old posted a series of pictures from the game on social media after the game, following them up with the quote from former president Roosevelt.
Jude Bellingham had a message for England’s critics following Sunday’s dramatic victory
Bellingham shared this quote from Theodore Roosevelt on Instagram after the match
It read: ‘it is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
‘The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.’
Bellingham also made reference to the negativity that can surround the England team in his post-match press conference.
He said: ‘It’s a feeling that is like no other. In international football, in knockout football, it’s even a worse feeling, because you’re 30 seconds from going home, having to listen to all the rubbish, feeling like you have let a nation of people down.
‘In one kick of the ball, everything can change. It’s a feeling I don’t like to have but when it’s done, it feels great.
‘It’s a habit I’ve picked up from Madrid. Obviously my game has improved a lot since I’ve joined and I’m grateful I could bring it to this game.’
When asked what he meant by ‘rubbish’, Bellingham added: ‘You know what I mean by the rubbish…
‘Playing for England should be the most proud moment of your career but often it’s quite difficult. There’s a really high intense pressure. The fans expect a lot from us regardless of what happened in recent tournaments years and years ago.
‘People talk a lot. You do have to take it personally a little bit. We work so hard at this game. We come in every day, we work hard to put on a performance for the fans, sometimes it doesn’t go well and sometimes it feels like there’s a a bit of a pile on, it’s not nice to hear.
‘But you can always use it and for moments like that, it’s nice to throw it back to some people.’
Bellingham appeared to yell ‘who else, who else?’ As he celebrated his late equaliser.
‘The adrenaline gets you. It’s a combination of a lot of things,’ Bellingham added.
‘Playing for England is an enjoyable feeling but it’s also a lot of pressure.
‘It’s very difficult when you talk in press conferences and interviews to talk as openly as footballers want to because they’re always judged.
‘For me, football, being on the pitch, scoring goals and celebrating is my release. Maybe it was a message to a few people. I was very happy at the end, lots of adrenaline.’
