Jude Bellingham admits Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink ‘massively’ helped England soar into semifinals of Euro 2024

The Three Lions find themselves in the semi-final of the 2024 Euros after prevailing on penalties over a tricky Switzerland side. All five of Gareth Southgate‘s men who stepped up to take penalties comfortably dispatched their spot kicks.

Fans were surprised to see England come out on top after historically struggling to succeed on penalties. Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham revealed in a post-match interview that assistant coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink‘s words greatly helped the players to find confidence ahead of the shootout.

I was really confident after talking things through with Hasselbaink. It's the work that he does behind closed doors and the lads being willing to take on that information that helps us come out on top in those situations.

Jude Bellingham said in a post-match interview

The No.10 also added that all of his memories of England participating in penalty shootouts have ended in heartbreak, starting from the 2012 Euros up until the most recent defeat on the 2020 final. This time around, all five of England’s penalty takers comfortably dispatched their shots. From Bellingham to Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka, every player perfectly did their job.

Jude Bellingham’s heartfelt gesture toward Manuel Akanji goes viral

England have Jordan Pickford and all five of their penalty takers to thank for a spot in the semifinal against the Netherlands. After being tied on goals after 120 minutes, England and Switzerland had to be separated on penalties in a fiercely contested game of fine margins. England ended up progressing on the night after Pickford kept out Manuel Akanji‘s strike.

The Everton keeper dove to his left and gave England the advantage in the shootout. Following the game, Bellingham approached a distraught Akanji and consoled the Manchester City defender for his mistake. After sharing a few words of consolation, the Real Madrid man also asked for the Premier League winner’s jersey.

As the two swapped jerseys, fans praised Bellingham for his kind gesture toward the heartbroken player. Singling out his missed penalty would be an injustice, as the Swiss defender successfully managed to keep out Harry Kane from making an attempt on goal for the entirety of 109 minutes! Bellingham also referred to teammate Kobbie Mainoo as ‘young general’ on Instagram.

In case you missed it :

• “You can fail once…,” Bukayo Saka gives important life lessons about bouncing back from failure after match-winning performance against Switzerland
• Jude Bellingham lauds Bukayo Saka on completing his Euros penalty redemption arc against Switzerland

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