Praises for Bellingham, Czechs out to stop Ronaldo on Tuesday

Pegged as the man to lead England to glory, Jude Bellingham duly delivered on Sunday against Serbia at Euro 2024 with a first-half masterclass that drew rave reviews from fans and pundits alike, amid an otherwise sub-par Three Lions performance.

At the same time, Czech Republic begin Euro 2024 against one of the tournament favourites in Portugal on Tuesday night from 10pm (Kenyan time) and their players will always remember facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s team whatever happens in the match, manager Ivan Hasek said yesterday.

The 20-year-old Bellingham’s powerful 13th-minute header made the difference in an unconvincing 1-0 win that put England atop Group C, but it was his swagger and sheer dominance that earned the Real Madrid midfielder high praise.

"He's come out there today with the attitude of: Listen, guys, this is my game, and I am him," former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said on the BBC broadcast.

"The way he's gesturing, shoulders back, just the way he walks around the pitch, makes you think this guy knows, believes and understands that he is the guy."

European media similarly praised the midfielder, but were less kind to the rest of the England squad, whose lack of composure in the second half threatened their victory.

German outlet BILD called Bellingham "the only one who stands out" while Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo wrote that England "were dull" and that there was "Bellingham and little else" to celebrate.

Under the headline "Without roaring with Pleasure", French sports newspaper L'Equipe criticized the Three Lions' "disappointing performance overall, notably marked by a drop in intensity in the second half."

They gave centre back John Stones an underwhelming 3 out of 10 overall and even captain and striker Harry Kane only got 5.

While England's opener may have made their fans sweat, the supporters' love affair with Bellingham continues to flourish.

There was a moment on Sunday when Bellingham was seen shouting in the face of Serbia's Filip Kostic before giving the Serb a shove with his shoulder. Fans quickly took to social media to sing Bellingham's praises.

"The Jude Bellingham shoulder barge needs to go into the Louvre," one supporter wrote on X. "Love it!"

Another wrote: "That shoulder barge from Bellingham is why I love him ... letting em know they're in a game."

"This is what you want, drag us through to the final Jude lad," posted another.

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards was hopeful that Bellingham can finally carry England -- looking for their first major tournament trophy in 58 years -- across the line.

"His character is what I'd say about him, his mentality, he he's got that swagger where he wants to be the main man in the team," Richards said on the BBC broadcast. "If he can keep this form throughout the tournament, he's the person that we can rely on."

Czech Republic begin Euro 2024 against one of the tournament favourites in Portugal and their players will always remember facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s team whatever happens in the match, manager Ivan Hasek said yesterday.

Hasek is unbeaten as manager of the national side, in nine games spanning two periods, but that record will face a stern test tonight against a Portugal team who won all 10 qualifying games.

“If you see Portugal, you see that they have players who play in the biggest clubs and they are the biggest stars in those clubs,” Hasek told reporters.

“So, Portugal obviously is one of the favourites of this tournament and we know that going into the game tomorrow, but we do want to win even then.”

Hasek is under no illusions as to who the main threat is, with Ronaldo coming into his sixth European Championship as the tournament’s all-time record scorer with 14 goals.

“We want to neutralise Ronaldo, especially for our guys, they will remember this their whole life,” Hasek said.

“Ronaldo is one of the best players and they will be able to say they played against him and maybe they will even be successful. It will be something to remember their whole life.”

Portugal are not one of the most fancied sides in the tournament solely because of Ronaldo, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva also in the squad.

Czech captain Tomas Soucek has plenty of experience facing these players in the Premier League with West Ham.

“I know that my men can rely on me, on my experience. I can help them when playing against one of the best players in the world, but all the players played in European Cups and they know the quality of these competitions,” Soucek said.

“Everybody watches Premier League so they know how these guys play.

The manager does not think the opening game is necessarily the biggest one they will face in Germany.

“The most important thing at this tournament is the last game. So, the first game doesn’t really decide anything,” he said.

“All our 26 nominated players are ready, they are healthy, they are fit, and tomorrow we cannot wait. We are really excited about tomorrow to start everything.

“When you see the pitch, when you see the stadium, you see this is a really great footballing event.”

The other Group F game between Turkey and Georgia in Dortmund is also on Tuesday.