Weekend Review: England limp through to last eight after Jude’s latest jewel

England squeezed through to the last eight of Euro 2024 after needing extra-time to push past a resilient Slovakia following a welcome 1-1 draw in 90 minutes for the bookmakers.

In what was yet another lacklustre performance from Gareth Southgate’s side (2/5), Jude Bellingham rose to the fore in the 95th minute with a stunning bicycle kick to break Slovakian hearts.

The underdogs looked to be heading through to the quarter-finals after Ivan Schranz opened the scoring in the 25th minute, but just moments into extra-time Harry Kane nodded in an Ivan Toney flick to put England in front.

The Three Lions will now face Switzerland next weekend, with their passage into the next round having shredded the nerves of the nation.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “England looked like they were going home and were out to 40/1 to win the Euros, the odds for next England manager were being checked and then, in the blink of an eye, Jude Bellingham was being backed into 6/4 for the Ballon d’Or, Kane backers were rejoicing thanks to the bet365 Extra Time Extra Chance offer and Southgate’s side were back into 7/2 favourites to lift the trophy – a crazy few minutes.

“Our Extra Time Extra Chance market is now live due to the knockout stages, so those punters who backed Harry Kane to score, which was the fifth most popular bet of the game, to have a shot on target and to score with a header (boosted to 8/1) will have had those bets settled as a winner and paid in bet credits – it also applies to bet builders.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins added: “[England] were, frankly, abject for most of the contest. Abysmal. Awful. Behind since the 25th minute, it took a wondrous Jude Bellingham overhead kick deep into the entrails of added time to keep them afloat, and a Harry Kane header mere seconds into the additional half-hour to complete the Houdini act.

“It was a brilliant result business-wise – a 90th minute draw – and under on the expected goals. Switzerland versus England will be a fabulous turnover magnet on Saturday teatime, but several levels of improvement are surely required to keep a fine-looking Swiss side at bay. Football, eh?”

Away from the drama, the Swiss (5/2) delivered arguably the shock of the weekend after brushing Italy (6/5) aside 2-0.

Hosts Germany (3/5) looked solid against Denmark (5/1) in a 2-0 win, but VAR once again stole the headlines, while Georgia (12/1) went 1-0 up against Spain (1/5) before Luis de la Fuente’s men clicked into gear and ran out 4-1 winners.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said the England game was the “best result in the book” as he reflected on the other three last 16 ties.

He said: “All told it was a good weekend of European football for us as we managed profit in three of the four matches played.

“Germany’s 2-0 win over a slightly unlucky Denmark left us in the red and, while Spain’s win over Georgia could just about be classed as a draw between punters and layers, the other two games were great for the book.

“Holders Italy getting dumped out by a solid looking Switzerland was another tough result for punters, among a sea of tough results so far.”

Freeth added: “We were flat on Saturday as we cleaned up on bet builders in the Italy versus Switzerland game but those profits disappeared with [Jamal] Musiala and [Kai] Havertz enjoying themselves for Germany against Denmark. We also lost on Spain versus Georgia as the Spaniards showed their class in a really entertaining game having 35 shots.”

Elsewhere, in horseracing, Los Angeles won the Irish Derby at the Curragh after 6/4 favourite Ambiente Friendly failed to improve on his Epsom Derby performance.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained runner, ridden by Ryan Moore and heading off at 13/8, finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Sunway in second, with Ambiente Friendly a further half-length back in third. The win marked O’Brien’s 16^th victory in the race.

Elsewhere, Bluestocking took the Pretty Polly Stakes after starting as 11/10 favourite and handling the challenge posed from Emily Upjohn to great effect.

Betfred’s Firkins remarked: “Over at the Curragh on Sunday, Ambiente Friendly couldn’t confirm Epsom Betfred Derby form with Los Angeles in the Irish equivalent, and doesn’t look to me like a true mile-and-a-half horse.

“Perhaps York’s Juddmonte International or similar (10.5f) could now be on his radar.

“Los Angeles looked a tough and resilient winner, benefitting from another fantastic ride from the brilliant Ryan Moore. Among the fillies, Bluestocking was all class and guts in the Group 1 Pretty Polly at the same track, hunting down Emily Upjohn in the shadow of the post in an absolute thriller.”