‘Jude Bellingham goes completely unnoticed’: How Spain reacted to England reaching Euro 2024 final
Spanish media critical of Real Madrid midfielder’s performance against Netherlands, saying he looks tired ahead of Sunday’s final
Marca and AS, two of Spain’s main sports newspapers, dedicated their front pages on Thursday to England’s 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final the previous night.
Marca played on the Beatles song once again, with its headline ‘Hey Jude, We’ll See You in Berlin’ referring to the final on Sunday between England and Spain.
Bellingham’s display on Wednesday night was criticised by Marca.
Under the headline ‘Hey Jude, not that way’, the paper commented: “Jude Bellingham’s 53rd game this season was special. He was returning to what was his home for three years in Signal Iduna Park [Borussia Dortmund’s home ground].
“However, the [Real] Madrid player did not shine. Quite the opposite: he went completely unnoticed. It was difficult for him to get into the game on the left in [Gareth] Southgate’s formation, he left some hint of his enormous class but he failed to generate danger coming from the second line.
“The feeling is that the season is dragging on for him. [He made] a nasty tackle on [Stefan] De Vrij at ground level in the 72nd minute. He went for the ball but found a player. He saw the yellow card.”
AS said simply: ‘England Get Through’.
The front pages of Spain’s two other main sports newspapers, Sport and Mundo Sport, mentioned England but focused on Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spain and Barcelona sensation.
Mundo Deportivo only granted a corner of its front page to England’s victory and instead noted that Yamal had impressed media across the world.
Relevo.com, an online sports newspaper that has changed the way sport is reported in Spain, took a closer look at Ollie Watkins, who scored England’s winning goal.
It credited Unai Emery, Aston Villa’s Spanish manager, with nurturing Watkins’ talent.
“I want to help him [Watkins] too, try to support him with my experiences with the forwards and give him confidence to do more and more,” Emery told the website.
Marca noted that many memes about Sunday’s final referred to historical events.
One featured the Spanish Armada, which in 1588 defeated Queen Elizabeth I of England, during the reign of Philip II of Spain, with the caption: “Majesties, another time? Spain and England face each other again in the big final”
Others depicted the match as a battle between Yamal and Bellingham, who were pictured holding swords in a church.
The hairstyle of Marc Cucurella, the Spain and Chelsea player, provokes close attention and the footballer is likened to a dragon.
Others expats in Spain saw the final as an opportunity to win over the popular holiday destination of Benidorm for good.