Jude Bellingham and England legend 'proud' of Bukayo Saka as Arsenal's starboy overcomes past pain in penalty redemption

07/06/2024 06:09 PM

Jude Bellingham says Bukayo Saka deserves the plaudits for England’s victory over Switzerland after coming back from his Euro 2020 heartache.

The Arsenal winger was the star of the show as the Three Lions advanced to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after scoring a stunning strike in open play to make it 1-1, before netting his spot kick in the penalty shootout win.

It was the perfect redemption after the vile abuse suffered by the starlet three years ago – both in sections of the media and online – when he missed from the penalty spot in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

But far from let that moment define him, the young forward picked himself up and has turned into a leading figure for club and country. Still just 22 years of age, he shouldered the responsibility and immense pressure to help fire England one step closer to another Euros final – obliterating his past penalty demons in the process.

As well as being one of the most likable figures in English football, Saka has been one of the Premier League’s most productive stars having recorded 111 goal contributions in 226 matches for the Gunners.

And after stepping up to be England’s star man, too, the immense character shown has not been lost on his teammate Bellingham.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT after the win, Bellingham said: “It's not the way we want to win, we want to go out there and steamroll teams, but it's unrealistic at this level.

"You have to earn it and you have to show character like that at the end. Five out of five penalties rarely happens at this level, so I'm really proud of my teammates and the staff.

"Bukayo won the Man of the Match and it was fully deserved, but the thing I'm most proud of him about is the penalty, to be honest.

"It's such a difficult thing to do, to go up and take one after the kind of adversity he faced. I'm so proud and really happy for him, he deserves it."

One man who has an idea of how difficult things have been for Saka is Stuart Pearce.

The England legend – who is working for talkSPORT at Euro 2024 – famously missed a penalty at the Italia 90 World Cup, making him public enemy number one in the media.

But, six years later, Pearce slammed home from the penalty spot at Euro 96, leading to one of the most iconic scenes in English football history as ‘Psycho’ screamed in celebration as six years of pain were set free.

While Pearce suffered that hardship in the 90s, the former England star believes that what Saka experienced was much worse.

He told talkSPORT: “Let me tell you this, when I stood up and took a penalty six years after missing one that was irrelevant for me, I didn’t suffer social media like this young man did.

“He was brave enough to stand up again – and listen, he was our best player!

“Let alone stepping up and scoring a penalty for us, he got the equalising goal and he was our best player tonight.

"It was a fantastic performance from that young man. Absolutely brilliant."

Saka will be hoping to guide England into another European Championship final when they face the Netherlands on Wednesday night in Dortmund – live on talkSPORT.