Who else? Bellingham pulled England back from the precipice with a golden hook upside down, and the adrenaline in his veins soared.
Trailing 1-0 to Slovakia, England seem to be in a desperate situation, running out of ideas and running out of time. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Kyle Walker played a long ball and Guehi flicked the ball away, and in this moment of heroic need, Bellingham took a step to the right, jumped with his back, stretched his body, and barbed home to save his team.
He landed with a muffled thud, then instantly got up and rushed to the outside of the arena to celebrate, his eyes fixed on the crowd, and then immediately slowed down. Just before Harry Kane, Declan Rice and other team-mates rushed to surround him, he said: "Who else? ”
After he scored the equalizer, there was so much to unpack.
Bellingham gestured with his hand to make a "doodoo" gesture, as if to indicate that everyone was talking too much. He left the crowd and stood with open arms, like Christ the Messiah. He pulled out his crotch, and later said it wasn't aimed at an opponent, but "a joke with some friends who were there."
Who else? Kane then scored the winner to help England reach the quarter-finals.
"The adrenaline is exciting," Bellingham said, "but it's a combination of a lot of factors. It's a pleasure to play for England, but it's also a lot of pressure. You'll hear people talk a lot of trash talk. It's nice that you can give them a little in return when you complete the task. For me, football, being on the pitch, scoring goals and celebrating is my release. It may be sending a message to some, but it's a very happy moment, full of adrenaline. ”
Bellingham was asked what he meant by "garbage". 'You know what I mean by 'rubbish,' he said, 'and like I said, playing for England should be one of the proudest things in a player's career, but I think it's quite difficult at times. The pressure is really high and strong. The expectations from the fans are high, regardless of what happened in recent games (or games from many years ago). ”
'It's definitely a little emotional, we've put so much effort into this game, we come every day to train and try to put on a good game for the fans. Sometimes it's not good, sometimes it feels a little too much. It's not pleasant to hear these words, but you can always take advantage of it in moments like these. I think it's good to give that back to the fans. ”
It's an interesting look at Bellingham's psyche, as he has been the star of England's squad from Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund to the Bernabeu during his career, just turning 21 the day before the Slovak game. He's been so quick to rise to prominence – and it's hard to think of how many players have been so passionately and unwaveringly sought after by England fans and media in the context of tensions in the Premier League club camp.
Bellingham and his team have to recognise that.
That's why, a few days before the game, he and Adi excitedly posted an ad that portrayed him as the savior of England after decades of disappointment. In the advertisement, he is a young man who carries the hope of the country and changes the famous song (of the Beatles), "Hey Jude, Don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better”。
This kind of marketing can be stressful.
Even some great stars, in the face of the country's hopes and expectations, sometimes get bogged down. But the 20-year-old not only won the Champions League and La Liga in his first season at Real Madrid, but also won the La Liga Player of the Season award.
Two weeks ago, England opened the scoring against Serbia in the first round of the European Championship group stage and fought until the last minute to help them win 1-0.
But in the tough matches against Denmark and Slovenia, he didn't seem to be able to adapt to the burden of his talent and status, as well as the role he plays in Gareth Southgate's system. He looked annoyed with himself and his teammates.
This is the first time Bellingham has been put under a magnifying glass as an England international. Some fans and media believe that in the match against Slovakia, for the sake of the balance of the team, he should be taken. It's not like he's saying "excessive", but for a player who is used to being praised every day, that's probably how he feels.
Wayne Rooney was also a young man who carried the burden on England. 'Jude did well in the first game, but I'm sure he admitted that he didn't play well in the next two games,' Rooney said on the Football Daily podcast last Wednesday, "I think he looks very frustrated, I've been there, he's been through it (I've been there), you look at yesterday's game [England drew 0-0 with Slovenia] and he raised his hand [to express his displeasure]. ”
The feeling grew stronger against Denmark and Slovenia, as well as against Slovakia on Sunday. For a long time, Bellingham appeared to be lacking in energy and inspiration.
Gareth Southgate admitted after the game that he had seriously considered replacing Bellingham and Harry Kane before the 90 minutes were out, "because they were out of the game with 15 minutes to go". But the England boss also said he kept them because "you know they are capable of doing what they do".
After the game, a reporter from ITV Sports asked Bellingham: "Who wrote your script?" ”
"I wrote it."
This is reminiscent of an article in The Blizzard magazine many years ago, in which Scott Murray wrote that English football has a soft spot for versatile midfielders (Brian Robson, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard) who excel at the kind of game-winning adventures that appear in the Roy the Rangers comics.
Murray believes this has created a reliance on individual ability, relying on players to "take the initiative in the game" – a phrase Gareth Southgate used when referring to Bellingham on Sunday – and trying to win games on individual ability, sometimes at the expense of team cohesion.
Bellingham has created many such moments in his short career, notably in two La Liga Nations derbies last season. He's a different kind of player and has the ability of Robson/Steven Gerrard to take chances when time is tight and change the game on his own terms.
Ultimately, after a tough 90 minutes, Bellingham did just that at Gelsenkirchen. Southgate spoke of how his disciple's "character and traits create moments that can change an important game".
Not just personality and traits, but also blood, intelligence, instinct, athleticism, and of course, technique. Bellingham is also feeling the pressure and does not seem to be immune to criticism, but he is shouldering the hopes and expectations of the country and he may not be so stressed now.
Bellingham can confidently head into the quarter-final against Switzerland and he can still take and decide the game the way he wants. Because if Bellingham can't do it, who else can?