Jude Bellingham has admitted that England “got things a little bit wrong” off the pitch at Euro 2024 – but believes the experience will help them as they bid for World Cup success.
England reached the final of the tournament but suffered defeat to Spain in Germany in what proved the final game of Gareth Southgate’s tenure in charge.
It was the second successive European Championship in which the side had finished as runners-up, though England struggled for form and fluency during the competition.
Bellingham has previously suggested that he felt scapegoated for the failure, though has now conceded that the atmosphere off the field was perhaps not what it needed to be.
“At the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch,” the Real Madrid midfielder said on England’s Lions’ Den show.
“I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons. Expectation was part of it – we had done well in 2018 and done well in Qatar [for the 2022 World Cup] and when it came to that tournament we were seen as one of two or three teams that should win it.
“We were not playing particularly well so even when we were winning you didn’t get the feeling you were as happy as you should be.
“There has to be that element of relentless and wanting to win but it is the nature of football that wins go out of the system quickly and we should hold on to that moment a little more.
“I think this time round having those experiences… and knowing, for example, that the guy who scores the winning goal in the World Cup final isn’t always the one you’d bet your house on so you’ve always got to be ready, everyone’s got to feel loved and feel a huge part of the team. The other thing is just to enjoy it.”
England begin their campaign against Croatia on Wednesday 17 June, and also face Ghana and Panama in Group L.
Bellingham faces a fight for a starting place with Thomas Tuchel likely to only choose one of he and Morgan Rogers in his starting XI.
Rogers believes, though, that there is a spirit of healthy competition within the squad.
“We are really aligned and it is really easy and seamless for anyone to fit in the group,” Rogers explained. “Wherever you are from, wherever you play, ages – it doesn’t matter in this group. It is a joy to be here.”
