Jude Bellingham says he is harnessing the pain of England’s near misses as the talented teenager homes in on European Championship glory next summer. The national team are in the midst of their most successful period since Sir Alf Ramsey led Bobby Moore’s heroes to World Cup glory in 1966. The surprising run to the 2018 semi-finals in Russia was followed by manager Gareth Southgate leading England to a first European Championship final two years ago. Bellingham’s first tournament ended in an agonising shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley and his maiden World Cup ended in a galling quarter-final exit to France in December. But now attention turns to their quest for Euros glory in Germany next summer – a tournament England will take a giant step towards by winning June’s qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Bellingham, who is closing in on a move to Real Madrid after Borussia Dortmund accepted their offer, will play no part in those matches due to a knee injury, yet he still reported to St George’s Park as he continues rehabilitation. “We’ve got to attack the qualifiers with the same mentality as we attack major tournaments,” Bellingham recently told the PA news agency. “The last three (tournaments), I’d say, we’ve been pretty successful. The last one was a bit disappointing, but we probably played a harder opponent than the previous ones. “The way we went out was disappointing, but you take confidence in the fact that you can go toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in Europe. “It stands you in good stead when you know there’s not many better teams on paper – you’d like to think – that are better than us. “So, you take that confidence and you take the experience that we’ve gained from the last few. “The goal is always to try and win it. That should be the goal for all of us going into it and that’s what we’ll try and do.” Bellingham does not lack confidence and nor should he given England’s performances in Qatar. A narrow defeat to eventual finalists and Euro 2024 favourites France did for Southgate’s side in the desert, where the midfielder says their progress was no mirage. “I felt so confident going into that France game that we’d get a result,” said Bellingham, speaking in his role as ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football programme – which provides free, inclusive football coaching for children aged five to 11 across more than 1,500 locations in the UK. “I think probably we fell short in the big moments for their goals and obviously the penalties and moments like that. “The majority of the game we didn’t have clear chances, but when we did, we could have been a bit more decisive maybe. But, like I said, it’s an experience to take into the next ones. “I just really enjoyed the experience as a whole – relishing being away, playing in such a good team, having that pressure on me and on the team. It’s something that I really enjoyed.” Bellingham underlined his place as one of the greatest talents in the world in Qatar, flourishing in England’s midfield after a restricted but valuable role at Euro 2020. Aged 17 he became the youngest English player to feature in a major tournament, making three substitute appearances in a crash course summer of learning. “It was a bit of weird one for me because I didn’t play (much),” Bellingham said. “It was my first major tournament and I didn’t play too much. “But I was still like a sponge while I was there, trying to learn from everything that was going on around me, having it in England as well. “You could see the pressure up close almost and you went to the games and the atmosphere was incredible. We fell short at the final hurdle, so you take a lot of experience from that. “But there’s also a level of…not regret but motivation that you can take from the tournament. “I think, for me, the pain that I felt after that final and after the World Cup will definitely drive me in the tournaments to come.” You certainly would not back against ambitious Bellingham and his talented England team-mates as they look to finally land silverware in Germany. “I’d just say stick with us, really,” the 24-cap teenager said when asked what his message to supporters would be. “England fans can feel it themselves, They’re ambitious, but they’re not stupid. There’s a reason for the kind of expectation and the hype around the team at the minute. “The truth is that we are delivering. We’d like to deliver a trophy and a tournament win, of course, but I think there’s steps to doing that. “A lot of the great international teams in the past didn’t win straight away. They had to build for years before they managed to get over the line. “I think that there’s something similar happening with this England team now. I wouldn’t say patience is the word but just stick with us because we’ll deliver.” :: Jude Bellingham was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session to announce his role as an ambassador for the UK’s largest grassroots participation programme for 5-11 year olds. Find your nearest free session at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Nottingham Open to commence as normal despite ‘horrific’ incident in city centre Joelinton: I received racist insults after Arsenal game Sheikh Jassim waiting to hear if final offer to buy Man Utd has been successful

JULY 21-27, 2023 From Servette’s supporters waving smoke flares during the UEFA Champions League match between Switzerland’s Servette FC and Belgium’s KRC Genk, to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with lawmakers in parliament while demonstrators protested his divisive judicial overhaul, to actor Kevin Spacey leaving court after a jury acquitted him of all nine sexual offense charges in London, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. The selection was curated by AP photo editor Pamela Hassell in New York. Follow AP visual journalism: Instagram :https://www.instagram.com/apnews/ AP Images on Twitter: :https://twitter.com/AP_Images Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

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Odsonne Edouard’s second-half goal earned Crystal Palace a 1-0 win against Sheffield United to worsen the gloom at Bramall Lane. Edouard struck from close range four minutes after the restart to give the Eagles a deserved three points in the Premier League opener. It was thoroughly convincing for Roy Hodgson’s men as they had two further goals disallowed, while Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham made a number of saves to keep his side in it. Indeed, Hodgson’s biggest problem was a tweet from wantaway goalkeeper Vicente Guaita before the game, seemingly questioning why he was not in the team. United’s return to the top flight after two seasons away ended with a whimpering defeat to compound a negative few weeks which saw the sale of Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge. Boss Paul Heckingbottom admitted before the match that United are “nowhere near” where they need to be and that showed as they lacked any real goal threat throughout the match. The signing of Gustavo Hamer from Coventry overnight had boosted spirits and he was paraded on the pitch before kick-off. The atmosphere helped the Blades make a strong start, with Will Osula going close inside the opening 10 minutes with an effort that was deflected just wide. But Palace began to take control of the game, with Eberechi Eze running things with his impressive ball-carrying skills. And he twice saw goalbound efforts blocked, first from Jack Robinson and then from John Egan. The visitors thought they had taken the lead midway through the first half when Jordan Ayew headed home after Joachim Andersen’s shot had been fumbled by Foderingham, but it was ruled out for offside. It was little surprise when they did go in front just after the restart. Ayew found a good position on the right hand side and sent in a wicked low cross which was begging to be converted and Edouard duly obliged, stabbing in from close range. It could have been two 10 minutes later as Edouard found space at the far post from Eze’s free-kick but his header was straight at Foderingham. The former Celtic striker also had a goal ruled out for offside, while Ayew tested Foderingham’s handling with a fierce shot that was palmed away. Palace kept knocking on the door for a second and Foderingham got down brilliantly to keep out Andersen’s header. The Blades had nothing in the way of a response, other than plenty of effort, as Palace saw it out with ease. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Dominic Solanke denies West Ham as Bournemouth snatch draw Mikel Arteta says Eddie Nketiah forced his way into Arsenal team in training Today at the World Cup: England through and Australia prevail on penalties

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