Bellingham: bicycle kick was instinctive, felt like Ronaldo in that moment

In the Round of 16 match of the 2024 UEFA European Championship, Bellingham scored an incredible bicycle kick to level the score for England in stoppage time, setting the stage for their comeback against Slovenia. Speaking after the game, Bellingham mentioned that the goal reminded him of Cristiano Ronaldo.

With England trailing by one goal as the match neared its end, Bellingham found the net in the fifth minute of added time, rescuing his team from defeat. England’s captain Kane then scored the decisive goal in extra time, but he later described Bellingham’s overhead kick as one of the greatest goals in the team’s history. Bellingham admitted that while executing the move, he likened himself to Ronaldo, who famously scored a breathtaking bicycle kick in the 2018 Champions League final for Real Madrid.

In a exclusive interview with “The Interview Room,” Bellingham said, “It was all instinct. The ball was perfectly positioned, just behind me. As I was in the air, I thought, ‘I’m six feet off the ground, just like Ronaldo!’ But when I watched it back, I realized I had one hand on the ground, so it wasn’t the most elegant, but it went in beautifully. It’s definitely one of the most important and memorable moments of my career so far.”

Before Bellingham’s goal, England’s performance evoked memories of their elimination by Iceland in the 2016 Euros, and Bellingham’s strike was England’s first shot on target in the match. Reflecting on the nerve-wracking near-defeat, Bellingham praised the team’s fighting spirit that carried them through.

Bellingham commented, “It was an emotional rollercoaster, not the most enjoyable way to win a game. You’d hope to have control, but you have to find a way to win, even if that means scoring a last-minute bicycle kick. The change in emotions was massive – a minute earlier, I felt it slipping away, seeing the Slovenia bench ready to celebrate, feeling frustrated and disheartened. But then, everything changed. We started believing we could create another chance, and fortunately, we did.”