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Match 1: England vs Slovakia
Match analysis: After safely surviving the group stage, England will take on Slovakia in the Euro 2024 round of 16 knockout round.
The two teams gathered at the Stadium Gelsenkirchen to compete for a place in the quarter-finals.
England return to the Stadium in Gelsenkirchen this weekend with the ultimate goal of being better than losing in the Euro 2020 final, with England kicking off this summer's European Championship campaign with a win over Serbia in the Ruhr Valley city.
The Three Lions qualified for the round of 16 as Group C winners, avoiding a potentially trickier route to Berlin, where the European Championship trophy will be handed over in two weeks' time.
Gareth Southgate's side picked up five points against Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia as England drew with the first two after a tense 1-0 thrashing of a limited Serbian side.
Despite remaining unbeaten at Euro 2024, Tuesday's stalemate with Slovenia sparked an angry reaction from some supporters, while many criticised a team that has won just two of its last eight matches.
Gareth Southgate, who played England's first two games against Slovakia during Euro 2004 qualifying, must now cut through the noise and ensure his talented squad match expectations.
France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany or Spain will not stand in the way of England's potential to the final, but Sunday's victory could trigger a quarter-final clash with Italy, which won on penalties at Wembley three years ago.
First, however, the Three Lions will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten record against Slovakia, having won five of their six matches so far: their only failure to win came at Euro 2016 – a monotonous goalless draw in the group stage.
—— Why England will win ——
England have reached the round of 16, although they haven't really played their best football. Somehow, England have been solid defensively but have had a tough problem scoring goals.
Harry Kane scored one goal from six shots in his first three games of the group stage. However, he still needs to do more to help the Three Lions emerge victorious. Bukayo Saka has one assist and two shots on goal in three games. In addition, he will be hoping to make more contact and get some passes to Kane to create more goalscoring chances.
The midfielders have some work to do, with Declan Rice leading the way. He has yet to score so far, but in his last matchup against Slovenia he did pass the ball 58 times. Bellingham has scored one goal on goal twice in three games. In addition, he had 54 passes in his last confrontation with Slovenia. Phil Foden had seven shots on goal but yet to get on the scoresheet. Regardless, he still made an impressive 80 passes in his final game.
Defensively on the pitch has been excellent. First, John Stones provided 10 tackles and 10 clearances. Kyle Walker had 13 tackles, four clearances and even six interceptions against Slovenia. Meanwhile, Marc Guehi had 19 tackles and 11 clearances. Kieran Trippier has completed 19 tackles and made six clearances. Overall, the four defenders contributed a lot to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who made 10 saves and conceded just one.
If the midfielders had been able to arrange a good pass for Kane to kick into the net and allow England to score early, England would have won the game. Then, it needs another defence and a great performance from Pickford.
While history certainly isn't in Slovakia's favor, Slovakia won't be taken lightly by their more illustrious opponents as their opening win over Belgium proved they have what it takes to cause chaos.
Although Slovakia managed just one point from their next two games, losing to Ukraine and drawing 1-1 with Romania, they managed to finish third in Group E, with each team in Group E finishing with four points.
Endre Duda, who scored a goal against Romania, spoke passionately about head coach Francesco Karzona, who gave him much of the credit for Slovakia's recent revival.
Throughout the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Karzona's side have lost just twice in 10 matches – both times to Portugal, while a more attacking approach has secured their place in the final.
In the group stage, Slovakia had a total of 37 shots on goal, 13 of which were on target, all of which were new national records set in major tournaments. In comparison, they had just two shots on target at Euro 2020.
Calzona, who was interim manager of Napoli in the second half of last season, relied on experience in Calzona's first international game, with the manager's starting line-up average age of 30 years and 218 days so far the highest in the game, with 37-year-olds Peter Pecarrick and Juraj Kuka playing a prominent role in the starting line-up.
After appearing as an independent nation for the first time eight years ago in their third consecutive European Championships, Slovakia must now break new ground if they are to make further progress, as they have never won more than one game in the knockout stages of the Euros.
—— Why Slovakia will win ——
Slovakia are at a disadvantage in this match against England. Therefore, it needs all the best to have any chance of beating England in the round of 16.
Start with the offensive. Ultimately, striker Ivan Schlandz will be a player to watch as he scored two goals in four shots in the group stage. But David Stryk failed to score from four shots. However, Likazi Haraslin has one assist in three games.
The midfielders must also do their part to help Slovakia overcome setbacks. This needs to include excellent passing and mobility to avoid the England team. Kuka has provided assists in all three group games. In addition, he had 33 passes against Romania. Stanislav Lobatka did not score. However, he made 51 passes against Romania. Audrey Duda scored a goal from four shots. In addition, he made 42 passes in his last game.
The backline also needs to do everything they can to contain Kane. First up was Scrial, who had 15 tackles and 18 clearances. Dennis Wavreau must also step up. So far, he has 10 tackles and 22 clearances. David Hanzko has made 26 tackles and 11 clearances. Peter, meanwhile, has completed 23 tackles and made seven clearances. All of them contributed to helping goalkeeper Dubravka, who made 11 saves and conceded three goals in three games.
If Slovakia can maintain possession and make good passes to create goalscoring chances, Slovakia will beat England. Then, it will need to defend strongly to avoid giving up good chances against England, especially Kane.
—— Forecast ——
The England team is one of the top teams in Europe. Slovakia, on the contrary, is not. While it would be an amazing story to see Slovakia rise to the challenge and do everything they could to beat England, it is unlikely. As emphasized, everything has to be done right in order for this to happen. We haven't even seen the best of Kane. As such, Slovakia could see that in this game, as Kane will score a goal to help England advance to the quarter-finals while sending Slovakia back home.
To date, only one of these teams has been involved in a successful European Championship competition, with Slovakia lifting the trophy in 1976 as part of Czechoslovakia, but England should be able to keep their dream of a first European title alive.
Even the Three Lions, who lack balance and rhythm, can get the job done at Gelsenkirchen, although it may be a matter of strength rather than style.
Recommend:
Look for England to win 1-0 2-0 2-1