YouTuber Mark Goldbridge was gobsmacked after his fiery tirade slamming Jarrod Bowen’s substitution for England against Serbia backfired when the West Ham ace made an immediate impact.
During a live stream, the YouTube sensation couldn’t hide his irritation and confusion at Gareth Southgate’s choice to swap out Bukayo Saka for West Ham’s Bowen. With England struggling in their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia, they were desperate for a second-half boost.
Goldbridge was seen throwing his arms around in disbelief and nearly choking on his drink as Bowen trotted onto the pitch. He didn’t hold back his opinion on the switch, exclaiming: “Jarrod Bowen, Jarrod Bowen! What the bloody hell, for Saka? Jarrod Bowen. What the f***.”
In a dramatic turn of events, Goldbridge had to eat his words when Bowen nearly made an instant impact on the game. Moments after coming on, Bowen charged down the right flank and delivered a peach of a cross to Harry Kane, whose thumping header was brilliantly pushed onto the bar by Serbia’s keeper Predrag Rajkovic.
Despite initial scepticism, Bowen’s contribution was undeniable as he almost helped England to extend their lead. The 45-year-old commentator was quick to swallow his earlier criticism, conceding that Bowen “did well”, reports Football London.
“That actually would’ve been a great cross by Bowen,” he admitted. “That would’ve been a very good goal actually. Did well, Bowen, put the cross in.”
Before Bowen’s near-assist, Goldbridge had listed several players he’d have preferred to see instead of Bowen and even dished out some advice to Southgate. “Nothing against Bowen but let me just go through the list of options we’ve got on the bench,” he said.
“We’ve got Ollie Watkins, we’ve got Cole Palmer, for a start you could put Foden on the right and put Gordon on the left, Foden’s played on the right for Man City.”
Goldbridge, the Manchester United YouTuber, was left scratching his head over Southgate’s latest squad selection, exclaiming: “I f*****g don’t know with this guy (Southgate), I just don’t know, he baffles me, absolutely baffles me.”
Despite Goldbridge’s scepticism, England kicked off their Euro 2024 journey with a narrow 1-0 victory against Serbia, courtesy of a cracking header from young star Jude Bellingham in the first half. Meanwhile, in the other Group C clash, Slovenia and Denmark ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Three Lions are set to take on Denmark next on Thursday, June 20, in Frankfurt.
