LONDON: Jude Bellingham struck in stoppage time to help England draw 2-2 with Belgium at Wembley after Youri Tielemans’ brace threatened them in an exciting international friendly earlier this morning.
Tielemans put the visitors in front after 11 minutes with Ivan Toney equalizing from the penalty spot soon after, before Tielemans’ header saw Belgium lead 2-1 at the break.
It looked a bit cruel for England, who did not look the same as the side that bowed out at the hands of Brazil last Saturday and they deserved to grab a late equalizer.
“I realize the curse we’re going to have if we lose two games in a row,” Bellingham said.
“We should have won with all the chances we created but these two games taught us a lot. I know many will criticize but we have to take the positives.
“I’m sure the manager will be happy with the way we played. You won’t be happy with a loss or a draw but we have to be happy with the way we performed.”
The clash between third-ranked England and fourth-ranked opponents was markedly different from last Saturday’s action, where England rarely attempted against Brazil and a chance was created after 20 seconds when Toney fired over the bar from Jarrod Bowen’s cross.
Belgium, wearing a strange light blue and brown kit, took the lead when Jordan Pickford failed to clear the ball from the danger area and it landed at the feet of Amadou Onana before Tielemans fired into the gaping goal.
England equalized from the penalty spot six minutes later when Jan Vertonghen brought down Toney and the Brentford forward marked his first start with his debut goal.
With his challenger as back-up to the injured Harry Kane failing to shine, it’s a big moment for Toney and his dream of knocking on the door in the Euro squad.