'An inside joke': Jude Bellingham clears air on quirky celebration following equaliser vs Slovakia

A round of 16 elimination was lurking around the Three Lions as resolute Slovakia was able to hold on to the 1-0 lead till the 90+4 minutes of the EURO 2024 match. However, just seconds before the final whistle, star midfielder Jude Bellingham pulled off an incredible acrobatic strike under pressure to level the score. England took the momentum to the Extra Time and in the first minute of ET captain Harry Kane put England forward with a clean header. The 2-1 score remained unchanged till full-time. Hence as it happened, Gareth Southgate's men snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at Veltins-Arena and will head to the quarterfinals, where they will face Switzerland.

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Jude Bellingham kept England in hunt with a last-gasp equaliser against Slovakia

Jude Bellingham emerged as the savior for England in the dying seconds. The Real Madrid player is getting acknowledged for keeping the composure to take the right call of going for an overhead kick but at the same time his goal-scoring celebration is being looked at with disdain.

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Jude Bellingham reveals his celebration was not directed towards Slovakia's bench

Nevertheless, Jude has cleared the air on his celebration and exterminated the controversy before it even becomes one. Bellingham, who turned 21 on Saturday stated that his odd celebration was an inside joke gesture to some of his close friends who were in attendance to watch the England vs Slovakia R16 EURO 2024 game. Bellingham rejected the assertion that his celebration was directed at Slovakia's bench.

With Jude Bellingham's heroic equaliser and Harry Kane's clinical winner, England are through to the last 8 of EURO 2024. They will face the challenge of Switzerland on Saturday, June 6, 2024.