Jude Bellingham celebrated scoring England’s first goal of Euro 2024 in an unusual manner alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Real Madrid superstar bagged what turned out to be the winning goal against Serbia on Sunday night in an important but unconvincing win.
The 20-year-old headed in Bukayo Saka’s cross from close-range in the 13th minute, sparking jubilation among Three Lions fans in Gelsenkirchen.
Wheeling away with his teammates, Bellingham went into a knee slide before breaking out his trademark celebration – standing tall with his arms stretched wide apart.
But then the midfielder pulled out a celebration fans hadn’t seen before.
He embraced Alexander-Arnold before the pair faced each other, got on one knee and put their hand over their face.
It was strange to see at first but Bellingham thankfully was on hand to explain its meaning after the game.
He told BBC Sport: ‘When we play Wolf, one of the staff loves that face when he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on!
‘So that was kind of, a little group celebration for the wolf crew!’
Bellingham was named player of the match and added that he was happy with how the game went despite being a far from perfect performance.
‘Jude Bellingham is made up of amazing people. It’s not just me. It’s because I have such a great support network,’ he added.
‘Good game. I thought they are a very tough side. Very robust, strong and a big group of lads and it was important that we prepared well.
‘The staff got it right. We prepared all week very well. We knew the roles we had to do.
‘We try to keep to our own standards and try to do our own job. It’s important that we got off to a good start. Positive inside the camp and onto the next one.
‘I have got used to getting into the box, getting wide and trying to do that. I got into that habit at Madrid and I wanted to carry my form into the Euros.
‘It’s a great start for me personally to get my confidence up and to help the lads get the win is the most important thing.’
More to follow…
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