Jude Bellingham has blamed fatigue for his recent subpar performance for England in their final group game of Euro 2024.
The Real Madrid superstar got his Euro 2024 off to a flyer in matchday one, scoring the winning goal and earning a player of the match award for his all-action outing against Serbia.
In the games against Denmark and Slovenia, however, Bellingham notably struggled to make an impact, with some fans even calling for the number 10 to be dropped from the starting lineup for the Three Lions upcoming round-of-16 clash with Slovakia.
Speaking to the press ahead of that game, Bellingham admitted relying on the energy from the fans in attendance to help his tired legs get through the Slovenia draw.
"You definitely draw on them for energy towards the end of games," he said. "I felt like in the last game, I was absolutely dead.
"But you hear them singing, hear them chanting and you can play at a level that's not our best, it's normal, it can happen.
"There's a lot of negativity outside the stadium and the camp and I think it's important that we remember fans in the stadium are the ones that are going to give us the energy. So don't worry about the ones who aren't there. Weve got to keep using that energy and feeling we get from them.
Manager Gareth Southgate was also keen to deflect blame away from Bellingham following his disappointing performances.
"I will have those messages with [Bellingham] rather than plaster them over the papers," Southgate told the media.
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