Bellingham rescues a draw for England against Belgium

• Jude Bellingham got the last laugh for England as his equalizer in injury time salvaged a point for the Three Lions in a 2-2 draw against Belgium.

Jude Bellingham got the last laugh for England as his equalizer in injury time salvaged a point for the Three Lions in a 2-2 draw against Belgium.

Ivan Toney’s penalty and two goals from Youri Tielemans after it would have given the Red Devils their first-ever victory in England. The Aston Villa player took advantage of two errors made by the hosts.

But Bellingham’s last-gasp equalizer with the game’s penultimate assault saved England from humiliating back-to-back home losses, which the hosts’ performance – while not perfect – surely deserved.

At Wembley, Kobbie Mainoo, Toney, and Ezri Konsa made their first starts for the Lions, while Romelu Lukaku, the all-time leading scorer for Belgium, rejoined the visiting team after missing their tie with the Republic of Ireland.

But in the tenth minute, John Stones of Manchester City indicated that he needed to be substituted, throwing Gareth Southgate’s defensive strategy into chaos and compounding an international injury issue that the England manager acknowledged was the worst he had dealt with in his tenure.

John Stones had to be substituted due to injury concerns. Photo/ Sky Sports

Stones, who is now also doubtful for Man City’s Premier League match against Arsenal this weekend, was replaced by Joe Gomez, but the Liverpool player was unable to do anything except watch as the hosts fell down in the eleventh minute due to a single mistake.

Jordan Pickford had the ball at his feet outside the box and tried to find a teammate in the middle, but he only cleared as far as Amadou Onana. With his first touch, Onana prodded the ball onto Tielemans, and Pickford scrambled across his line in the opposite direction, allowing the man-scuffed effort from Aston Villa to roll into the bottom corner.

After just six minutes, though, Bellingham’s deft passing move set up a lovely sequence in which he slipped in Toney, who was hauled down from behind by Jan Vertonghen inside the area, sparing Pickford’s blushes.

The referee’s ruling was maintained in spite of the ex-Tottenham Hotspur player’s vociferous objections, and penalty expert Toney calmly sent Matz Sels the wrong way to start his senior England career on only his second appearance.

In the 27th minute, Jarrod Bowen believed he had scored his first goal for his senior team after Lewis Dunk headed a deep corner back into the six-yard box, allowing the West Ham United player to poke the ball in, even though he was obviously offside.

When Lukaku, an ex-Leicester City player, returned the favor by sending a beautiful outside-of-the-boot cross to an unattended back stick, where Tielemans arrived to power a header home and restore Belgium’s lead, Dunk was unable to stop Belgium from capitalizing on that brief respite in the 36th minute.

With the exception of the defensive errors, England’s first-half performance was excellent. Southgate predictably started the second half with a same starting lineup, and Toney scored the game’s opening goal after four minutes.

In the 65th minute, Mainoo connected with Bellingham’s cross with a ferocious low drive, putting his name on the scoreboard as England’s efforts to equalize for the second time quickly picked up steam. However, Sels stood tall and denied the youngster.

Jude Bellingham celebrates with Maddison. Photo/ Sky Sports

Mainoo’s night was subsequently cut short in the 74th minute when James Maddison joined the game, much to the delight of the home fans, who had witnessed an outstanding performance by the 18-year-old on his debut.

In the 79th minute, the Tottenham Hotspur player got involved right away, pushing the ball forward to Bowen, who sidestepped a few tackles and laid off Phil Foden. However, the Manchester City winger’s attempt flashed across goal and behind.

In the 79th minute, the Tottenham Hotspur player got involved right away, pushing the ball forward to Bowen, who sidestepped a few tackles and laid off Phil Foden. However, the Manchester City winger’s attempt flashed across goal and behind.

However, a final England attack saw Maddison deftly take the ball down on the byline and found Bellingham in space before La Liga’s top scorer skillfully rolled the ball into the back of the net to send Wembley into consternation in the rain.