England’s 10 greatest goals of all time: Jude Bellingham’s wonder strike comes in third, but who takes first place on Oliver Holt’s list?

A stunning overhead kick from Jude Bellingham saved England’s Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday as the Three Lions drew with Slovakia in stoppage time.

Ultimately, Gareth Southgate’s side overcame their last-16 opponents thanks to Harry Kane’s extra-time goal to advance to a quarter-final clash with Switzerland.

Bellingham’s goal could ultimately prove to be a defining moment as England continue to compete for glory in Germany.

The 21-year-old’s stunning equaliser is one of England’s greatest ever goals.

here, Sports mailOliver Holt, chief sports writer for The Sun, has ranked the 10 greatest England goals of all time…

10. Stuart Pearce v Spain, 1996

You can object to this being called a goal if you like. Yes, there will be another goal from Euro 96 on this list. But there was something about Pearce’s penalty and his intense emotional reaction to scoring that seemed to sum up the pride, joy and pressure felt by England players.

I still remember being at the old Wembley and the horror I felt as I saw Pearce step up to take the penalty in the quarter-final against Spain, knowing he had missed against West Germany in 1990 and fearing the impact a second miss would have on him. But he scored, and in the years since, the moment has come to symbolise the sheer joy and release that football can bring.

9. Raheem Sterling vs Germany, 2021

England’s only run to a major men’s final since 1966 began in uncertain fashion.

Although this was not the great Germany team, England’s inferiority complex and the fact that we had not beaten them in a knockout match for 55 years was a source of fear and dread. But England produced their best performance of Euro 2020 against Germany, and with 15 minutes remaining Luke Shaw crossed for Raheem Sterling, who had the best performance of the tournament, to score the opener.

In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with attendance restricted and many wearing masks, it seemed like an amazing moment of catharsis and celebration. England won 2-0.

8. Trevor Brooking v Hungary, 1981

I was 15 when I watched my first live England match, a 1-0 win over Hungary at Wembley in November 1981 when Paul Mariner scored the goal that secured qualification for the 1982 World Cup.

But six months ago, it looked as if Ron Greenwood’s England would not qualify. They needed a positive result at the Nypstadium in Budapest to have a chance, and they got that with a brave 3-1 win, thanks to goals from Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan. Brooking’s second goal, with the score tied at 1-1, was the decisive moment.

Keegan beautifully put the ball back into his path, and Brooking smashed it into the top corner. He smashed it so hard it lodged in the post. It was something special to win at one of the great stadiums of world football and to take a giant leap towards qualifying for a major tournament at the same time.

7. John Barnes vs Brazil, 1984

Some might argue that this goal should not be considered one of England’s greatest ever goals because it was scored in a friendly. But the fact that a supremely gifted English winger was able to break through the Brazilian defence at the Maracana, a stadium synonymous with the idea of ​​the beautiful game, and slide the ball over the goal line remains of immense symbolic importance for English football.

The goal was a sign that England could be more than just long-range football, that we could produce breathtaking moments too. It came just six years after Viv Anderson became the first black woman to represent England, and although Barnes would face racist abuse in the years to come, the goal remains one of the great beacons of joy for the racial diversity of the England side.

6. Chloe Kelly vs Germany, 2022

The FA banned women’s football for 51 years, but after two decades of little-known work by pioneers who built the game back up, the game has grown in popularity and achievement.

England’s women captured the public imagination with their World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019, but at Euro 2022 in England, they have done what the men have tried and failed to do since 1966 and won a major tournament.

The women also beat Germany in the Euro 2022 final. Chloe Kelly’s 110th-minute winner in front of more than 87,000 fans at Wembley Stadium wasn’t the greatest goal, but the goal and Kelly’s celebration were moments, not just the arrival of the goal, but a founding moment for women’s football in this country.

5. David Beckham vs Greece, 2001

It may come as a surprise to a generation who believe Gareth Southgate has underachieved as expected that England have not won the last two World Cups and only reached the final of Euro 2020, but there was a period when England struggled even to qualify for tournaments.

Much was expected of the golden generation at the 2002 World Cup, but when they trailed 2-1 to Greece in their final qualifier at Old Trafford, it looked as if they might not make the finals.

Defeat would have left England facing a play-off, but in the 93rd minute, England were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. David Beckham curled a superb free kick over the wall, into the back of the net, and the stadium erupted in joy and relief.

4. Paul Gascoigne vs Scotland, 1996

It was a summer when football brought the nation together, when football came home for Euro 96, it seemed as if flags were flying from every car window, and England, under Terry Venables, played the kind of football we dream of.

But the game was almost over before it began. England had drawn their first group game against Switzerland and were holding a 1-0 lead over Scotland at Wembley when David Seaman saved a Gary McAllister penalty. Seconds later Gascoigne was lofting the ball over Colin Hendry’s head, running up to it and thumping it past Andy Gorm. It was the goal that started the party.

3. Jude Bellingham vs Slovakia, 2024

It was the greatest rescue in English football history. All hope seemed lost in this last-16 tie as the game entered the fifth minute of stoppage time. With England trailing 1-0 to Slovakia and playing like a watercourse, the fans resigned themselves to the inevitable. Many left the stadium.

Gareth Southgate was facing a difficult fate, as this was sure to be his last game in charge of his country and a terrible end to an era of great achievement. It was a defeat that would leave scars on England’s new golden generation.

Instead, Bellingham’s indomitable talent came to the fore. He created space for himself in the box and when Marc Guehi headed the ball in from a long throw, Bellingham put it in with an overhead kick.

2. David Platt vs Belgium, 1990

England did not win the 1990 World Cup, but their run to the semi-finals under Sir Bobby Robson inspired the nation and helped create the great football boom that can still be felt today. England struggled in the group stage and were outplayed by Belgium for much of the last 16 in Poland.

Then, with the score at 0-0 in the dying minutes of extra time, Paul Gascoigne took a free-kick into the box, Platt watched the ball drop over his shoulder and turned to volley it past Michel Preud’homme. It saved England from penalties and set the stage for our best World Cup performance since 1966.

1. Geoff Hurst vs West Germany, 1966

Geoff Hurst’s second goal in the 1966 World Cup Final was arguably the most memorable. West Germany had equalised in the dying seconds to send the game into extra time, but in the 101st minute Hurst controlled a cross from Alan Ball, turned quickly and fired the ball over the bar to put England 3-2 up.

Whether the ball had crossed the line is still hotly debated, but Azerbaijani linesman Tofig Bahramov informed the referee that it had, and in that moment the game swung decisively in England’s favour. It has immortalised the youth of 1966, and provided England with the greatest moment in our sporting history, one we are still trying to emulate 58 years on.