At 0:00 on July 1, a 1/8 final of Euro 2024 will be played at the Fertings Arena, the home of Schalke 04, and the last runner-up England will face Slovakia, which has defeated Belgium in the group stage. In the first half, Slovakia took advantage of a mistake in the England defence to open the scoring. In the second half, Bellingham equalized in stoppage time; Kane scored with a header in extra-time to help England turn the score 2-1.
Southgate started with Manchester United's 19-year-old Maynou to replace Conor Gallagher and Trent Alexander-Arnold's previous midfield roles. At the age of 19 years and 72 days, Mainou became the third-youngest player in England's history to start in the knockout stages of a major tournament, behind Owen at the 1998 World Cup and Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004.
Just five minutes into the game, Slovakia launched an attack on England's right flank, Haraslin split the ball on the left in front of the penalty area, and the attacking left-back Hanzko pushed the far corner just wide. In the seventh minute, Mainou tackled on the line of the box and stuffed it to Saka, but the latter failed to handle the ball and missed the chance to shoot, and Maynu also received a yellow card for a subsequent scramble foul.
In the 9th minute, Bellingham, who had just celebrated his 21st birthday, advanced with the ball on the right and sent a delicate diagonal pass, which Kieran Trippier pushed directly with his right foot. In the 11th minute, the Slovakian midfielder made a direct pass, and Haraslin used his speed to shake off the England player and burst into the box, but his subsequent right-footed shot was blocked by Guehi and Pickford.
In the first 20 minutes, Slovakia grabbed the front court fiercely, and the referee's whistle was also blown very strictly, and England's Menou, Gue, Bellingham and Slovakia's 37-year-old veteran Kucka received yellow cards one after another. England's attack after the opening was concentrated on the left side of the opponent, and even Belin frequently ran to this side to organize the attack, and Kyle Walker and Saka got consecutive crosses.
In the 23rd minute, Kieran Trippier made a direct stop, Bellingham broke through near the penalty line and split the ball, and Foden was squeezed down in the middle. The ensuing corner was taken and Menu's long-range shot went over the crossbar. With Maynu in control of the midfield, Bellingham was able to devote more energy to the team's attack.
In the 25th minute, Goy did not notice the position of the Slovak center Strelec in the middle when he was fighting with the opponent, and was easily crossed by Kutska's header in the middle, Strelets took the ball on the penalty line and passed straight into the air, Schlanz inserted and pushed the goal, and Guehi ran back slowly when he was out of position, and finally could only witness the opponent send the ball into his own door behind him.
The lack of positions in England's defence, as well as mistakes in the help of the defence, gave the opposition the chance to open the scoring. Previously, Stones and Kyle Walker had passed the ball directly to the opposing players in their own backfield, and the England backline was collectively out of shape today. Foden on the left side is still struggling, with few bright spots in terms of breaking through with the ball and sharing the ball, and Slovakia's goal was also launched from his right side.
After conceding the goal, Bellingham kept waving his hands to boost the morale of his team-mates and remind the fans in the stands to show their support. The midfield superstar, who has endured a number of comebacks at Real Madrid this season, hopes to inspire the team to turn things around with these moves.
This goal also enabled Slovakia to score first in all four games in this European Cup. In the first 3 games, their final result was 1 win and 1 draw. In the previous three games against England who scored the first goal, they were eventually reversed by a score of 1-2. Schlandz's goal was also his third goal of the tournament and is currently tied for the top scorer with Slovakia, and he also scored Slovakia's first European Championship knockout goal!
In the following game, although Bellingham and Kane scored goals to help England reverse 2-1, this team worth as much as 1.52 billion euros The number one "aircraft carrier" of the European Championship is full of holes in the defense, and it is difficult to get out of the game against the strong Switzerland.