Football NewsJude Bellingham has backed Rashford, Saka and Sancho: “So proud to have teammates with such top character.”
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The teenage midfielder pointed out that his England colleagues needed “huge b*llocks just to volunteer”.

Racist abuse has been aimed in the direction of Saka, Rashford and Sancho

Jude Bellingham has offered his support to Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford following their missed penalties in a Euro 2020 final shootout. The teenage midfielder pointed out that his England colleagues needed “huge b*llocks just to volunteer”. The Three Lions saw their bid to end a 55-year wait for major international silverware come to an agonising and all-too-familiar close on Sunday when going down 3-2 on spot-kicks to Italy after a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium. Questions have been asked of how Gareth Southgate settled on his five takers, while racist abuse has been aimed in the direction of those who missed, but Bellingham is among those to have talked up the actions of a select few that stepped up under immense pressure.

England have a lot of potential to unlock

Bellingham, who made three appearances at Euro 2020, posted on Twitter: “We win together, and we lose together. So proud to have teammates with such top character. Takes huge b*llocks to volunteer; as for the racism, hurtful but not surprising. I will never get bored of saying that more needs to be done. Educate and control the platforms!” Criticism of those that missed, and those that did not take a penalty, has been knocked back quickly from inside the England camp. It will, understandably, take time for the disappointment of missing out after coming so close to fade for those that have starred across a memorable summer. There is, however, still plenty of potential for England to unlock, and the hope is that another shot at glory will be taken in at the 2022 World Cup.

Attention is already starting to shift in that direction, with Three Lions captain Harry Kane among those looking towards a bright future. He has posted on social media after seeing another trophy slip through his grasp: “Last night hurts. “It’ll hurt for a long time. But we’ve come so far and broken down so many barriers that this is not the end. We win together, lose together and will regroup together for the World Cup. Thanks for all your support this summer.”