Jude Bellingham determined to help England end major trophy drought at Euro 2024

<p>Jude Bellingham says he is harnessing the pain of England's near misses as the talented teenager homes in on European Championship glory next summer.</p>

<p>The national team are in the midst of their most successful period since Sir Alf Ramsey led Bobby Moore's heroes to World Cup glory in 1966.</p>

<p>The surprising run to the 2018 semi-finals in Russia was followed by manager Gareth Southgate leading England to a first European Championship final two years ago.</p>

<p>Bellingham's first tournament ended in an agonising shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley and his maiden World Cup ended in a galling quarter-final exit to France in December.</p>

<p>But now attention turns to their quest for Euros glory in Germany next summer - a tournament England will take a giant step towards by winning June's qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.</p>

<p>Bellingham, who is closing in on a move to Real Madrid after Borussia Dortmund accepted their offer, will play no part in those matches due to a knee injury, yet he still reported to St George's Park as he continues rehabilitation.</p>

<p>"We've got to attack the qualifiers with the same mentality as we attack major tournaments," Bellingham recently told Planet Sport.</p>

<p>"The last three (tournaments), I'd say, we've been pretty successful. The last one was a bit disappointing, but we probably played a harder opponent than the previous ones.</p>

<p>"The way we went out was disappointing, but you take confidence in the fact that you can go toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in Europe.</p>

<p>"It stands you in good stead when you know there's not many better teams on paper - you'd like to think - that are better than us.</p>

<p>"So, you take that confidence and you take the experience that we've gained from the last few.</p>

<p>"The goal is always to try and win it. That should be the goal for all of us going into it and that's what we'll try and do."</p>

<p>Bellingham does not lack confidence and nor should he given England's performances in Qatar.</p>

<p>A narrow defeat to eventual finalists and Euro 2024 favourites France did for Southgate's side in the desert, where the midfielder says their progress was no mirage.</p>

<p>"I felt so confident going into that France game that we'd get a result," said Bellingham, speaking in his role as ambassador for McDonald's Fun Football programme - which provides free, inclusive football coaching for children aged five to 11 across more than 1,500 locations in the UK.</p>

<p>"I think probably we fell short in the big moments for their goals and obviously the penalties and moments like that.</p>

<p>"The majority of the game we didn't have clear chances, but when we did, we could have been a bit more decisive maybe. But, like I said, it's an experience to take into the next ones.</p>

<p>"I just really enjoyed the experience as a whole - relishing being away, playing in such a good team, having that pressure on me and on the team. It's something that I really enjoyed."</p>

<p>Bellingham underlined his place as one of the greatest talents in the world in Qatar, flourishing in England's midfield after a restricted but valuable role at Euro 2020.</p>

<p>Aged 17 he became the youngest English player to feature in a major tournament, making three substitute appearances in a crash course summer of learning.</p>

<p>"It was a bit of weird one for me because I didn't play (much)," Bellingham said. "It was my first major tournament and I didn't play too much.</p>

<p>"But I was still like a sponge while I was there, trying to learn from everything that was going on around me, having it in England as well.</p>

<p>"You could see the pressure up close almost and you went to the games and the atmosphere was incredible. We fell short at the final hurdle, so you take a lot of experience from that.</p>

<p>"But there's also a level of…not regret but motivation that you can take from the tournament.</p>

<p>"I think, for me, the pain that I felt after that final and after the World Cup will definitely drive me in the tournaments to come."</p>

<p>You certainly would not back against ambitious Bellingham and his talented England team-mates as they look to finally land silverware in Germany.</p>

<p>"I'd just say stick with us, really," the 24-cap teenager said when asked what his message to supporters would be.</p>

<p>"England fans can feel it themselves, They're ambitious, but they're not stupid. There's a reason for the kind of expectation and the hype around the team at the minute.</p>

<p>"The truth is that we are delivering. We'd like to deliver a trophy and a tournament win, of course, but I think there's steps to doing that.</p>

<p>"A lot of the great international teams in the past didn't win straight away. They had to build for years before they managed to get over the line.</p>

<p>"I think that there's something similar happening with this England team now. I wouldn't say patience is the word but just stick with us because we'll deliver."</p>

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/soccer/news/jude-bellingham-determined-help-england-end-major-trophy-drought-euro-2024">Jude Bellingham determined to help England end major trophy drought at Euro 2024 </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>