"Jude did just what Jude does" - England star on Jude Bellingham late heroics in 2-1 win over Slovakia in Euro 2024

England captain Harry Kane heaped high praise on his teammate Jude Bellingham as the Three Lions, on the brink of Euro 2024 elimination, beat Slovakia 2-1 in extra time in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday (June 30). They next face Switzerland in the quarterfinal on Saturday, July 6, in Dusseldorf

In an entertaining clash, Gareth Southgate's side were rocked early, as Ivan Schranz fired Slovakia in front inside 25 minutes. With the Three Lions struggling to provide a response, they nearly fell 2-0 behind when David Strelec almost lobbed Jordan Pickford from the centre circle.

Phil Foden had a goal ruled out for offside, and Kane squandered a presentable opening. Southgate rang the changes, bringing on Ivan Toney for Foden in stoppage time, and the move paid immediate dividends.

In the fifth minute of added time, Bellingham produced an acrobatic finish to force extra time, where Kane put his team ahead in the first minute, which eventually proved to be enough. Kane said about Bellingham (as per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano):

"Jude did just what Jude does."

Both goalscorers came off as Southgate sought to protect the lead, and the Three Lions lived on to fight another day, booking their place in consecutive European Championships quarterfinals.

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"We're a team prepared to go all the way" - Jude Bellingham's teammate Harry Kane on England's Euro 2024 chances

Harry Kane (left) and Jude Bellingham celebrate England's goal at Euro 2024.

England captain Harry Kane reckons his team have all it takes to go all the way at Euro 2024 after fighting back from the brink of an early flight home to reach the quarterfinals.

The Three Lions looked insipid and bereft of ideas for large swathes before coming alive when push came to shove. Reflecting on the thrilling win, Kane told UEFA.com (via BBC):

"It's one of my better wins in my career, feelings wise for sure. What a crazy set of emotions. To get on the scoresheet was obviously fantastic. (It's) an amazing feeling, and hopefully we can use this energy in the quarterfinals now.

"We're a team that's prepared to go all the way to win. That's what we needed. Was it our best performance? No. But we kept going and creating chances."

Continuing his praise for Jude Bellingham, he added:

"There's a lot of things that go into tournament football. We want to play better and play nice football. Jude Bellingham loves the big moments and stepping up. If it wasn't going to fall to me, I was hoping it would fall to Jude. He's got a lot more flexibility than me."

England now take on.a Switzerland side that dumped defending champions Italy out of Euro 2024 with a 2-0 upset a day earlier, denying the Three Lions an opportunity to avenge their Euro 2020 finals loss on penalties.