“I felt that he got set up" - Graeme Souness slams England senior players for not protecting Jude Bellingham at Euro 2024
Graeme Souness has criticized England's senior players for not rushing to Jude Bellingham's defense after he received criticism for his form at Euro 2024. The former Liverpool star believes Bellingham was set up by his teammates.
The Three Lions made it to their second consecutive Euro final under Gareth Southgate at this year's edition in Germany. England lost 2-1 to Spain in the final, ending their hopes of becoming European champions.
Despite advancing to the final, Southgate's side were criticized for their performances and failing to win convincingly on occasion. England qualified for the knockout rounds after securing just one win in the group stages.
The Three Lions were nearly knocked out by Slovakia in their last-16 clash. However, Jude Bellingham's stoppage-time equalizer and Harry Kane's extra-time winner saved them from elimination.
Souness believes the national team's more senior players failed to protect Jude Bellingham when he had to face the media and criticism of the team alone. The Liverpool icon said (via GOAL):
“The big players, the leadership group within the England side, were quite happy for Bellingham to take the flak from the media and deal with those difficult questions that were coming his way."
He added:
“I felt that he got set up and someone needs to explain to him that he’s a young man learning the game, he’s a mile off being the finished article – he should just keep wanting to learn every day. I’d blame the senior players in the England camp for that.”
Bellingham started every game for England at the Euro 2024 in Germany, contributing two goals and an assist.
Graeme Souness explains why Jude Bellingham's performances suffered at Euro 2024
Graeme Souness believes Jude Bellingham's performances at the Euro 2024 took a hit when the Three Lions conceded during games. The pundit believes the Real Madrid star ended up taking too many touches as a result of trying hard to equalize.
England conceded first in each of their games in the knockout stages, including in the final against Spain. However, while the Three Lions managed to turn things around in their other fixtures, they couldn't beat La Roja.
While acknowledging Bellingham's potential, Souness pointed out his shortfalls at the Euro 2024. The pundit said:
"Bellingham has the potential to be a fabulous player. I think what happened was that when England went behind and were chasing a game and things weren’t going well, they ended up trying too hard and taking too many touches. I think Jude Bellingham fell into that time and time again. He was taking too many touches and that can be a negative result from trying extra hard.”
Bellingham played an instrumental role in Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League victories last season. The midfielder scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists in 42 appearances across all competitions.