Ex-England striker Alan Shearer (Picture: BBC)
Alan Shearer claims Jude Bellingham ‘wasn’t happy at all’ with Gareth Southgate’s tactics during the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The Three Lions failed to win their first European Championship and end 58 years of hurt as they were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the Euros final in Berlin.
After a cagey and uneventful first half, Spain took the lead just after the break, Nico Williams finding space in the box to spot past Jordan Pickford.
A couple of England changes had the desired effect and Southgate’s side drew level on 73 minutes as Cole Palmer found the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
But England once again retreated and Spain found a late and deserved winner through substitute Mikel Oyarzabal, who latched onto Marc Cucurella’s pinpoint cross to deflect home.
Shearer admits the ‘better team won’ in Berlin as England became the first nation to lose consecutive Euros final and says he noticed Bellingham growing frustrated with Southgate’s tactics.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer said: ‘Bellingham wasn’t happy. He was stuck on the left again. You could tell he wasn’t happy at all.
Jude Bellingham after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat (Picture: Getty)
‘He had a disappointed look about him, his arms were up, he was looking towards the bench for guidance. He could see things weren’t going well and he wasn’t happy with the lack of press and everything else.
‘He was showing all of those emotions. I could see it, I was looking at him all the time. He was showing it to the bench.
‘He’s not a left midfielder is he so I sort of understood his emotions. I was really surprised Gareth Southgate went back to four at the back.
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‘Our best 45 minutes of football in the whole tournament was when we played three at the back in the first half against the Netherlands.
‘I thought he would go for that system again. It’s clear that [Phil] Foden and Bellingham don’t want to play on the left in that system.’
Gary Lineker also hinted some England players were frustrated by the tactics Southgate used throughout the tournament and in particular against Spain.
Despite arriving in Germany as one of the favourites, England were noticeably passive in most games, going behind in all four knockout matches.
Lineker said: ‘When we walked off the pitch today we bumped into quite a few of the England players and they were all absolutely understanding [of the criticism they have received].
‘They were disappointed and despondent – I won’t name any names because it’s not fair – but you could tell they weren’t happy with perhaps the way things went.
‘The only times we saw England play attacking, aggressive football is when they’ve been behind, with the exception perhaps of two first-halves. But mostly they were sitting back and even at 1-1 tonight they started sitting again.’
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