Jude Bellingham gave his take on Harry Kane‘s controversial comments on the players who pulled out of England duty after the 3-0 victory over Greece.
The Three Lions’ chances of topping their Nations League group were on the line after a surprise defeat to Greece at Wembley last month, but Ollie Watkins’ early goal set the tone for a dominant display. The team went on to score two more goals in the second half, including an own goal by Odysseas Vlachodimos and a debut goal from Curtis Jones, securing their position at the top of Group B2.
The lead-up to the match was marred by the withdrawal of nine key players from the England squad, prompting Kane to express his disappointment in a pre-match interview, stating: “I think England comes before anything. It comes before club and it is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer.
“Gareth was on hot on that and he wasn’t afraid and he wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It’s a shame this week obviously. Yeah, I think it’s a tough period of the season and maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit.”
Bellingham was all praise for his team-mates’ performance in the absence of key players, stating to ITV Sport post-match: “A lot was made of the lads that weren’t here, but I think the lads that did show up were amazing. Curtis [Jones] making his debut, scoring, playing as he did, amazing. Really proud of the boys tonight,” reports the Mirror.
(Image: PA)
He also highlighted the team’s professionalism, adding: “There would have been a million and one excuses if we didn’t play well or didn’t get over the line but the lads went out and did their business so professionally. Back to the top of the group where we belong.”
Joining the conversation was acting coach Lee Carsley, who, while speaking with ITV Sport, expressed confidence in England’s rising stars. He said: “It represents that we are moving in the right direction. We won’t get too carried away, we have a big game on Sunday at Wembley.
“It is just important the players played to their strengths. We have a lot of outstanding talent. The players that weren’t here, we concentrated on the ones who were. They took their opportunity today.”
Praising Curtis Jones specifically, Carsley remarked: “Curtis Jones is an outstanding player. He played really well, even without his goal. With his goal it was an excellent performance.” He added: “People were speaking last night about the inexperience in the squad but these players are playing for their clubs at a really high level.”