They think it's all..OVERHEAD KICK

Bellingham stunner saves country's hopes and Southgate's job

- CRAIG SWAN

JUDE BELLINGHAM has spent most of Euro 2024 waving his hands in the air through frustration.

But, when he decided to point his right peg to the sky to finally produce a spectacular moment of magic, the complaining stopped.

Bellingham celebrated his 21st birthday prior to the game. He gave Gareth Southgate the gift of saving his job.

With Harry Kane then bagging a winner 52 seconds into extratime, his under-fire manager was offered a shot at vindication just when he looked to be heading for his jotters.

Southgate managed to duck thrown beer cups at the end of a dismal group stage. Had the Real Madrid ace and his captain not salvaged the situation, he would not have dodged the can.

After his under-performing England players dropped their bottle for over 90 minutes against Slovakia, he wasn't going to survive.

In his 99th game as boss, it looked like 100 wasn't coming, Southgate got his job because England were humiliated at the last 16 stage by Iceland in 2016 and Roy Hodgson fried in the volcanic fall-out.

He was going the same way as, for the most part in the Arena AufSchalke, England were just Awful. Not a shot on target against the team ranked 45th in the world until injury-time, Southgate's army of critics would not have been short of ammo.