Bellingham, Southgate defend Trent Alexander-Arnold from critics

Talk about a teammate having your back no matter the weather, Jude Bellingham turns up for his national team mate, Trent Alexander-Arnold following England’s win over Serbia in the Euros.

Jude Bellingham’s maturity and leadership shone through both on and off the pitch as he defended his teammate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, following England’s 1-0 win over Serbia in their Euro 2024 opener. Bellingham, who scored the decisive goal in the 13th minute, praised Alexander-Arnold’s performance in a new midfield role during his post-match interview.

England, now leading Group C, had to navigate some challenging moments against a determined Serbian side. However, Bellingham’s early strike secured a crucial victory for Gareth Southgate’s team.

Speaking to ITV after the match, Bellingham was quick to commend Alexander-Arnold’s contribution.

“He makes it so easy for me because he can control the game so well defensively in that position. I know people talk a lot of rubbish but he’s so aggressive with that back to goal pressure and it really helped me as well because it meant I got a breather when he went out,” Bellingham said.

The young midfielder continued to highlight their on-field synergy, stating,

“I think we understand each other well with the ball. He wants to play positive all the time, he wants to play forward all the time. We accept as teammates who have that kind of quality that we are going to lose the ball and that’s fine. We will win it back for each other and we will keep playing. I thought he was brilliant.”

England manager Gareth Southgate also expressed satisfaction with Alexander-Arnold’s performance.

During his post-match press conference, Southgate noted of Trent Alexander-Arnold,

“Good. I have to say he’s been really diligent in getting his positioning right. Obviously Jude goes forward a lot, so I thought Trent adapted and adjusted to his positioning really well. Used the ball well, obviously had a really good effort on goal. In the end, we wanted some fresh legs in there, Conor can get to the ball quickly. We’ve got a squad and we need to use it.”

Bellingham’s goal and his post-match defense of Trent Alexander-Arnold underscored the unity and mutual support within the England squad, an essential quality as they aim to go deep into the tournament.