England were 86 seconds away from an embarrassing Euro 2024 exit until Jude Bellingham’s stunner inspired a 2-1 extra-time win over Slovakia in the last 16.
Bellingham, only 21 on Saturday, showed his talismanic quality yet again to haul England level with their first shot on target in the 95th minute.
His superb bicycle kick from a long throw-in beat Martin Dubravka to cancel out Ivan Schranz’s first-half opener and send the tie to extra-time.
Harry Kane then stepped up 50 seconds into the additional 30 minutes to nod home Ivan Toney’s flick and give England a victory which sets up a quarter-final with Switzerland next Saturday – kick-off 5pm – which had looked almost impossible only moments earlier.
But it could have been so different.
The recriminations were already beginning on what looked set to become another of England’s darkest nights where they were outplayed for long periods by the team ranked 45th in the world.
Despite that, Southgate appeared reluctant to influence change on the pitch, with his only substitution before the 82nd minute the introduction of Cole Palmer after Kieran Trippier was forced off with injury.
The pressure had been building ever since Schranz fired Slovakia into a first-half lead with his third goal of the tournament. The Slavia Prague winger was allowed to stride forward from midfield past Marc Guehi to meet David Strelec’s ball into the box before beating Jordan Pickford one-on-one.
England continued sleepwalking towards the exit door when Bellingham’s poor pass on the half-way line was intercepted by Strelec, and Pickford could only watch on in anguish as an ambitious effort drifted past his unguarded far post.
Southgate’s squad had come into the tournament boasting some of the world’s best attacking talent but again looked toothless in attack until the final minutes.
They did briefly think they had equalised shortly after the break when Phil Foden tapped in Trippier’s low cross, but a VAR review rapidly halted the celebrations showing he was comfortably offside.
Kane was guilty of wasting a rare clear-cut opportunity when he nodded Foden’s free-kick past the near post, while Declan Rice was unfortunate to hit only the base of the post with an excellent 25-yard drive.
Instead it was left to Bellingham to pick up the pieces with seconds remaining, before Kane showed his own captain’s quality in extra-time to give England – and Southgate – a stay of reprieve for another six days.
In pictures: Bellingham and Kane rescue England’s hopes
Harry Kane heads England in front against Slovakia
Kane: Bellingham saved England’s tournament
England captain Harry Kane on ITV Sport:
“That’s the desire and attitude of the boys and everyone involved.
“It looked tough for a second there but you keep going. We work on so many details throughout the week, we put in a long throw a couple of days ago.
“We said ‘we might need it, be prepared for anything’, and Jude does what Jude does. What an unbelievable goal. It’s kept our tournament alive.
“All I can say is incredible support. I know the fans back home would’ve enjoyed that. What a win.
On Bellingham’s goal: “One of the best in our country’s history, I reckon.
“What a player he is. He works so hard for the team, there’s been a lot of talk about him over the last couple of days, but he’s showed what he can do.
“In the big moments, he’s stepped up and that’s what we need.”
Keane: Win solves nothing – but only results count
Sky Sports’ Roy Keane on ITV Sport:
“It hasn’t really solved anything [the win]. You can talk about performances, but at this level it is about getting over the line and winning.
“Everyone wants a great performance, but if they keep getting results and going through… the next game will be tough but let’s see how they go.
“You have to give them praise as we were really critical at half-time but they found a way to win. The top players found a moment.
“God help us if Bellingham starts playing well. They had two huge moments and they got themselves over the line. Credit where it’s due.”