Prince William tonight declared England’s back from the dead win over Slovakia as an ’emotional rollercoaster’. The Prince of Wales sent his congratulations to Gareth Southgate’s men after the Three Lions sealed their place in the quarter finals of the Euros with a dramatic 2-1 win after extra time against the minnows. In a post on X/ Twitter alongside a picture of Jude Bellingham kissing Harry Kane’s forehead, William, a keen football fan and President of the FA, wrote a jubilant message that read: ‘Emotional rollercoaster! Let’s go! Quarter finals here we come! W.’
Captain Kane headed the winner after a massive scare against Slovakia. England looked on the brink of an embarrassing Euros exit in Gelsenkirchen, only for Bellingham’s spectacular overhead kick to salvage an equaliser deep into stoppage-time. And skipper Kane delighted the England fans who made up the majority inside Gelsenkirchen’s 60,000-capacity Arena AufSchalke with the decisive goal – as the Three Lions turned their Round of 16 showdown on its head in 196 seconds.
It sets up England for a quarter-final clash with Switzerland on Saturday in Dusseldorf and eases some of the pressure on beleaguered boss Southgate. William last week flew out to Germany to watch England’s below-par performance in a 1-1 draw with Denmark. The future king headed to the dressing room at the final whistle in Waldstadion last Thursday to give the England squad some calming words of encouragement and to lift the team’s spirits.
England had been jeered off at half-time as they went in a goal down to Ivan Schranz’s 25th-strike for the unfancied Slovakians, who are ranked 45th in the world – 40 places below England. And there was evident disbelief as Southgate sent the same eleven back on to the field for the second period, with boos ringing out within two minutes of the restart. Former internationals had angrily laid into England’s performance at half-time during ITV’s coverage, including visibly furious former Three Lions full-back Gary Neville. The ex-Manchester United captain stormed: ‘It is illegal that Trent Alexander-Arnold isn’t playing in a game like today.’ He raged, after seeing England struggle to test Slovakia’s Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the opening period: ‘We’ve watched this now for three and a half games.
‘We tried to be really positive pre-game, thinking this is going to be the game – I don’t think it’s a case of one sub, two subs, I think he’s got to get three on the pitch. ‘He’s got to shift the whole narrative around this game because that is not changing unless he does something, starting now.’
There was a glimmer of hope in the 50th minute when Manchester City’s Phil Foden – back from briefly returning to England for the birth of his third child earlier this week – shinned the ball into the net five minutes into the second half. Yet celebrations were cut short when a VAR checked ruled he was offside and the equaliser was disallowed – before Arsenal’s Declan Rose later hit the post. But the mood dramatically changed with Bellingham’s stoppage-time equaliser, which sent the game into extra-time – followed swiftly by Kane’s bullet header to put England in front.
Southgate had made substitutions late in normal time, such as bringing on Chelsea forward Cole Palmer, Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze and Brentford striker Ivan Toney. Supporters in the crowd included wives and girlfriends of the England players as well as celebrities such as chart-topping pop star Ed Sheeran. Extreme mood changes as the action unfolded could be seen on many faces, as Slovakia dominated the first half and took the lead – before England fought back.
The players had appeared confident when entering the Arena AufSchalke ahead of the 5pm kick-off, with manager Southgate making one change to his starting XI following last Tuesday’s underwhelming goalless draw with Slovenia. He picked Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo in place of Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, as England sought to book a place in the Euros quarter-finals in Germany. Supporters had been thronging into the German city and calling for the team to play without fear and silence critics with a thumping victory – while back home in England bars and fan parks were brimming with excitement.
Only 6,500 tickets were officially available for tonight’s Round of 16 encounter, but hordes more than that number converged on Gelsenkirchen and started raising their beer glasses six hours before kick-off. Crowds belted out ‘Football’s Coming Home’, tribute songs to Jarrod Bowen and Phil Foden and the national anthem, amid optimistic hopes England to perform like potential European champions
