GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany -- Maybe it is better to be lucky than good. Make no mistake, got out of jail against after , saved by a moment of individual brilliance rather than any coherent game plan. The obituaries were written, the formal announcement of Gareth Southgate's departure as head coach drafted in the minds of those Football Association employees responsible.
Anger rained down from the stands as beleaguered England fans watched their team fall into a state of paralysis while undertaking the task of replying to 's 25th-minute opening goal, a fourth consecutive display of this type at and one nearly triggering their early exit from a tournament many expected them to win. Then out of darkness, came light. rescued this lost cause with a magical strike, his 95th-minute overhead kick forcing extra time, a minute into which, nodded in to complete a remarkable turnaround and set up a quarterfinal with in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
So all is well again, right? Hardly. England will take great self-belief from digging themselves out of this hole, but when the emotion of such a dramatic turnaround subsides, any suggestion that they have suddenly stumbled on a winning formula does not survive even the most basic analysis. The two goals owed plenty to good fortune.
hurled the ball into the box with what Southgate described afterwards as "an old-fashioned long throw," flicked it on and Bellingham produced a bona fide moment of magic. For all the talk of playing out from the back, intric.
