Euro 2024: Gareth Southgate of England hopes to avoid putting additional pressure on Jude Bellingham.

Gareth Southgate is hoping to ease the pressure on Jude Bellingham as the young midfielder joins the England squad for Euro 2024. Bellingham, who recently took some time off after winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, was the last player to link up with the national team.

Unfortunately, he was not part of the team that suffered a 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley in their final friendly before the tournament in Germany. This loss has raised concerns among some about England’s performance in the upcoming tournament, especially after their impressive qualifying campaign.

However, Southgate remains confident that Bellingham will contribute to the team. He stated, “I’m sure he will, but it is not his responsibility to do that.” When asked about the midfielder’s ability to handle the growing pressure, Southgate replied, “I’m sure he is, but we are not putting everything on Jude. We have a lot of talented players, and winning this tournament is a collective effort.”

Southgate also praised the young players who featured in Friday’s defeat, namely Bukayo Saka from Arsenal and the in-form Chelsea star Cole Palmer. He expressed his satisfaction with Saka’s performance, stating, “It was good to see Bukayo on the pitch. He missed a lot of training, so it was important to have him out there.”

Regarding Palmer, Southgate acknowledged his impressive season and his ability to create scoring opportunities. He noted, “He had a fantastic season and found himself in some great positions. Perhaps he took one touch too many on both occasions, but the fact that he was there and looked dangerous is significant.”

England’s first group match in Euro 2024 is against Serbia on Sunday, June 16.