Bellingham saves blushes as England lucky to draw

On a night when Jude Bellingham may have lost his status as the youngest prodigy in the England midfield, he still had the final say.

- RICHARD JOLLY

An evening of erratic finishing from Real Madrid's top scorer concluded with the surest of shots, tucked into the bottom corner for a 95th-minute equaliser against Belgium: Bellingham has often had a flair for the dramatic and, in sparing England a second defeat in four days, he delivered just his third international goal. If the glimpse of the future had come first from Kobbie Mainoo, with a dextrous touch and a lovely ability to evade opponents, on his maiden international start, England then saw what the Bernabeu has witnessed for much of this season: Bellingham the goalscorer.

That he was assisted by James Maddison, with an impudent scoop to find the runner from midfield, offered another option to Southgate: Bellingham wears 10 for his country now, but he can drop into a deeper role to accommodate Maddison. They combined just as England seemed to have spent March dampening expectations, heading towards Euro 2024 without the form of favourites.

They may go to Germany, however, with some of Gareth Southgate's plans subject to a rethink. Mainoo, named in the Under-21 squad less than two weeks ago, may have played his way into the senior group for the summer. Lewis Dunk, assured in autumn, sadly hapless in spring, made a second mistake in as many games and looks likelier to have a summer at home.

Maddison indicated he could be an impact sub. Ivan Toney gave himself a better case of understudying Harry Kane in Euro 2024. On a mixed night for the Aston Villa representatives, Ezri Konsa may have moved up the defensive pecking order amid Dunk's struggles, but Ollie Watkins could have been leapfrogged by Toney in attack.