Bellingham last-gasp equaliser earns England draw with Belgium
Injury-hit England - among the favourites to win the Euros in Germany - were bright in attack but Tielemans capitalised on defensive lapses. The Aston Villa midfielder scored an early opener after a bad error from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and headed home a second later in the first half after Ivan Toney had equalised from the penalty spot.
Belgium survived a succession of England attacks and seemed certain to hold out for the win in front of more than 80,000 fans before Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham struck deep into stoppage time. The draw is a welcome boost for England after they lost 1-0 to Brazil at Wembley on Saturday - their first defeat since the 2022 World Cup quarter-final loss to France.
"Jude of course is the headline and that competitive spirit, that desire not to lose, desire to win in the end, was decisive in getting the late goal," said England boss Southgate. "But I thought the whole team showed that throughout the game and recovered from setbacks with a pretty inexperienced team."
Southgate has had to grapple with numerous absences during the March international window and his problems mounted when defender John Stones was forced off early in rain-swept London, replaced by Joe Gomez. The manager, when asked who would be available for the Euros, which start in June, said he was "lost".
"The great thing is definitely some players have emerged positively from the opportunities they've had and so we've perhaps got more depth in one respect but the injuries are a concern," he added. "We've got so many players missing at the moment and we've still got the real heat of the season to come... we're not going to know what we're left with until right at the end."
Belgium, themselves without the injured
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