On July 1, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the European Championship continued, with England, ranked 4th in the world, facing Slovakia, ranked 48th in the world. I thought there was not much suspense in the game, but I didn't expect the European Cup knockout round to almost have a super upset, relying on Schlandz's goal, Slovakia led England 1-0, Bellingham equalized in injury time, Kane completed the stunner in extra time, England advanced to the top 8 2-1 and will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals, which is also the first group of the top 8 of the European Cup!
In the 24th minute of the first half, Strelec plugged the ball through, Schlanz got a single chance, and scored with a right-footed push, and Slovakia led England 1-0. Throughout the first half, England 3 people were yellow, and Slovakia directly tore through the defense with a simple combination, and England seemed to be yesterday's Italy.
England, the favourites to win the tournament, fell behind for the first time in this European Championship after reaching the knockout rounds, while the sacking of Gareth Southgate has also been on Twitter. Looking at the half-time stats, England had 75% possession, three times as much as Slovakia, and had a 6-4 lead on goal, but Slovakia only had one shot on target and the result was a goal. With 5-0 corners and 348-83 passes, it can be said that England dominated the field but could not score.
In the 50th minute of the second half, Kieran Trippier crossed and Foden scored, but the referee blew for offside and the goal was invalidated. Next, although England attacked fiercely, after Slovakia contracted its defense, an iron bucket formation was placed in front of the door, Southgate had no choice but to make substitutions, and what was more outrageous was that Saka went to play left-back, which made people feel speechless.
Six minutes of stoppage time were added to England's last chance. Bellingham equalised in the 95th minute with a hook in one of the best moments of the tournament, saving England from the game towards the end of the game and sending the two sides into extra time.
At the start of extra time, England was in full swing, Guehi crossed and Kane scored with a header to give England a 2-1 lead. In the ensuing game, Slovakia fell short, failed to equalize, and finally regretted to be out of the tournament. England successfully qualified for the last eight of the European Championship, with Bellingham becoming the biggest contributor.
In the end, England defeated Slovakia 2-1 to advance to the last eight of the European Championship. In fact, England has a lot of experience in the history of the European Championship, defeating Croatia 4-2 in 2004, 2-1 against Wales in 2016, and in Euro 2021, they also conceded first against Denmark, but still beat their opponents 2-1. In the knockout stages of Euro 2024, England have once again continued their good fortune.