In the third 1/8 final of the European Championship that ended in the early morning of July 1, Beijing time, the world's No. 5 England team reversed Slovakia 2-1 after extra time and advanced to the top 8. And the controversial England coach Gareth Southgate has once again miraculously survived the crisis.
Despite the sluggish form in the group stage, England manager Gareth Southgate still did not make major changes to his starting line-up, only replacing Conor Gallagher with Maynu, and the other 10 remained unchanged. In this game, England continued the sluggish form of the group stage. Facing Slovakia, ranked 45th in the world, was unable to find the back of the net, but the opponent broke the deadlock in the 25th minute with Schlanz inserting a goal.
Until the end of normal time, England were unable to equalise the score. With England worth $1.5 billion coming home, controversial Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham finally stepped up to save England with his brilliant barb to help the Three Lions equalise.
In extra time, captain Kane also stepped forward and completed the overtake with a header relay. In the end, England advanced to the last 8 of the European Championship very thrillingly. And the much-questioned but very "tough" coach Southgate has also successfully continued to lead the team forward after twists and turns. After the dangerous elimination of Slovakia, Southgate has led the team to the top 8 of international competitions for four consecutive years, and the record is quite stable. He is also the first coach in England's history to lead the team to the last eight of four consecutive tournaments.
However, after reaching the last eight, England will meet Switzerland, who have eliminated Italy. Obviously, the Swiss are much tougher than Slovakia, and even if Gareth Southgate is tough, England will have to improve their form as soon as possible to secure a progression from the bottom half of the bracket.