“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.
