Alan Shearer has claimed that Gareth Southgate's tactical choices in the Euro 2024 final left Jude Bellingham displeased. England unfortunately suffered a second successive loss in the European Championships' final match on Sunday (July 13) in a 2-1 defeat to Spain.
After their heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Italy at Wembley three years prior, La Roja emerged as the winners in Berlin, thanks to goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal. Luis de la Fuente's Spanish side largely outperformed England throughout the game, leading to criticisms of Southgate once again coming up short of maximising the potential of his capable squad.
Southgate's choice to alter formation saw Bellingham play on the left side of the attack which apparently irked the Real Madrid talisman according to Shearer, who noted the star's evident frustration during the match, reports the Mirror.
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In an episode of The Rest is Football podcast, the English football legend stated: "Bellingham wasn't happy. He was stuck on the left again. You could tell he wasn't happy at all. He had a disappointed look about him, his arms were up, he was looking towards the bench for guidance. He could see things weren't going well and he wasn't happy with the lack of press and everything else.
"He was showing all of those emotions. I could see it, I was looking at him all the time. He was showing it to the bench." Empathising with Bellingham's visible frustration as he criticised Southgate's tactical shift, Shearer admitted. "He's not a left midfielder is he so I sort of understood his emotions. I was really surprised Gareth Southgate went back to four at the back.
"Our best 45 minutes of football in the whole tournament was when we played three at the back in the first half against the Netherlands. I thought he would go for that system again. It's clear that [Phil] Foden and Bellingham don't want to play on the left in that system."
Despite Shearer's observations, Bellingham stood by his manager post-match, expressing unwavering support. "Whatever happens with Gareth, I'll always respect him," the 21-year-old declared.
"If he stays, then I'll be even more determined to win something for him because he deserves it. Sometimes the numbers and the kind of statistics, the records don't lie, he's been our most successful manager since 1966. So whatever he decides, he will always have my respect and my love."
