European Cup 1/8 finals England vs Slovakia July 1 (Monday) 00:00
In the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, England will face Slovakia, and this matchup will be played at the Schalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
According to German transfer statistics, the two teams have met a total of 6 times before, and the mighty Three Lions are unbeaten with 5 wins and 1 draw, and this only draw happened to happen in the European Championship. In the group stage of Euro 2016, the two teams in Group B drew 0-0, and neither team achieved anything. In that tournament, England's performance was quite bad, with 1 win and 2 draws in the group stage, accumulating 5 points, and qualifying as the second in the group, and in the 1/8 finals, they were eliminated by Iceland with a score of 1-2, which was a shocking upset. Coincidentally, the Three Lions also have one win and two draws in the group stage of this European Championship, so can they avoid a repeat of the mistakes they made eight years ago?
The most recent meeting between the two teams took place in the 2017 World Cup qualifiers, when Lobotka broke the deadlock after three minutes, with Dier and Marcus Rashford scoring in quick succession to help the Three Lions turn it back. Seven years later, Lobotka is still an integral part of Slovakia's midfield, and England are no longer in the squad for the two who scored the goals of the year. And in this matchup, which Three Lions star can step up and score a goal?
In terms of absolute strength, Slovakia is by no means an opponent for England, but the Three Lions, as the favourites to win the title, have shown quite "screwed" in the group stage - Southgate seems to have no idea how to pinch together a core group of players such as Kane, Bellingham, Foden, Rice, etc., and several big names have played their own games for most of the time. Now that we're in the knockout stages, any misstep could cost the team years of hard work. Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent is not too strong, can Southgate adjust the team's form in time for this round of knockout rounds? Let's wait and see.
European Cup 1/8 finals Spain vs Georgia July 1 (Monday) 03:00
In the 1/8 finals of the European Cup, Spain will face Georgia, and this matchup will be played at the Cologne Stadium.
The two teams were in the same group in the qualifying stages of this European Championship, and the two legs of the meeting are definitely a painful past for Georgian fans - Georgia suffered a super 1-7 defeat at their home stadium, with Matadors captain Alvaro Morata scoring a solo goal and 16-year-old Yamal also scoring a goal; They lost 3-1 away in the second leg and a goal from star Kvaratskhelia may have taken some solace in their attention.
However, in the history of the two teams, the Georgian team has also defeated the Matadors. In a friendly in June 2016, Georgia defeated a large-scale rotation Spain 1-0 with the team's No.10 Okryashvili scoring the goal. Now that the player has faded out of the national team, Chakvetadze, who took over his No.10 shirt, was the one who saved face for the team in the 1-7 tragedy. In this game, can the attacking duo of KK and Chakvetadze help the team successfully "slay the dragon" again?
In the group stage, Spain won three in a row without conceding a goal. As one of the favourites to win this tournament, this Matador team naturally hopes to continue this hot trend. But against Georgia, De La Fuente's side must not afford to slacken in the slightest. In the group stage, Georgia beat Spain's "Peninsula Brothers" Portugal 2-0 to reach the knockout round.
The 16-year-old has successfully passed his exams and completed his secondary school studies, and if he can score in this game, he will become the youngest player to score in the history of the European Championship. Facing an opponent who has breached the city gate before, this superstar's performance is worth looking forward to!