In the early morning of July 1, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the European Cup continued, with England playing against Slovakia.
England are ranked fifth in the world and are the favourites to win the European Championships, with a narrow 1-0 win over Serbia in the first round, a 0-0 draw with Denmark and Slovenia in the second and third rounds, and England won 1 and drawn 2 and drew 2 and accumulated 5 points to top the group and advance to the knockout stage. England has world-class stars such as Kane, Bellingham, Saka, and Foden, and the team's total value of 1.52 billion euros ranks first among teams participating in the European Championship. Slovakia, ranked 45th in the world and a second-rate team in Europe, are worth only 150 million euros, but they beat Belgium 1-0 in their opening game of the group stage, lost 1-2 to Ukraine in the second round and drew 1-1 with Romania in the third round, and Slovakia finished third in the group and advanced to the knockout round. In the last 6 meetings between the two sides, England have won 5 and drawn 1 without defeat.
With the last European Championship champions Italy losing 0-2 to Switzerland, the Italian team stopped in the round of 16. England is in the bottom half of the league almost no strong opponents, the second half of the strong teams are only the Netherlands and Switzerland. The teams with the ability to win the championship, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and other players are all piled up in the top half.
Just three minutes into the game, Guehi received a yellow card for bringing down Strek, which also set the tone for the game, and in the seventh minute, Menou received the second yellow card of the game. In the 9th minute, Bellingham passed diagonally into the penalty area, and Trippier met the ball and pushed it high. In the 13th minute, Kuczka brought down Trippier for a tactical foul and received the second yellow card of the game. In the 17th minute, Bellingham tripped Haraslin while defending and England received three yellow cards in less than twenty minutes. In the 22nd minute, England launched a counter-attack, Kieran Trippier crossed from the left, and Kane's header was blocked by the opposing defender. In the 25th minute, the England defense was penetrated, and Scranz scored a solo goal to give Slovakia a 1-0 lead after breaking the deadlock on the field.
England went on the offensive from then on, but there weren't too many dangerous shots on goal. First Half ended, England 0-1 Slovakia.
In the first half, England led with 77% possession, but 4 shots were off target and 0 shots on target, which was England's first time in 38 years that England had 0 shots on target in the first half of a major knockout round, Slovakia scored with only 23% possession, and the referee gave a total of 5 yellow cards in the first half, England received three yellow cards, and Slovakia also had two yellow cards.
England started the second half with a smooth start and a quick counter-attack in the 50th minute, Kieran Trippier chose to cross from the left side of the penalty area, Foden flanked the goal in front of the goal, but the offside was invalidated in the first goal.
In the 53rd minute, Pickford was distracted, and Strelec's wide-ranging lob shocked England into a cold sweat, and the ball was slightly wide of the goal.
In the 59th minute, Foden took a free-kick from the edge of the box, but his direct shot was blocked by the wall. England continued to control the ball but failed to make attempts. In the 65th minute, Palmer replaced Kieran Trippier. In the 68th minute, Foden drove a corner kick from the left into the box, but it was cleared by a direct header from the opposing player. In the 70th minute, Bellingham fell to the ground in the penalty area, then got up himself to continue the game, and the referee did not indicate it. In the 76th minute, Pecaric brought down Saka and Slovakia received their third yellow card of the game. In the 77th minute, England won a free kick in front, and Kane's header was slightly deflected. In the 80th minute, Rice burst into the box with a cold shot from outside the box, the ball hit the post and bounced off, and Kane's follow-up shot also went over the crossbar.
In the 82nd minute, Eze replaced Maynu, and time was running out, and England's front was full of attackers. In the 86th minute, Slovakia's long-range shot was easily confiscated by Pickford. Southgate was also frowning on the sidelines. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Ivan Toney, who had just been substituted, headed the ball and Bellingham scored with a barb.
Bellingham's equaliser was England's first shot on target in the game, and the game was sent to extra-time thanks to Bellingham's equaliser.
England, who dragged the game into extra-time, were opened to the second vein, and at the beginning of extra-time, Toney's header was crossed, Kane headed home, and Kane scored the fastest goal of extra-time in the European Cup.
Toney came off the bench and made a series of contributions, creating a reversal free kick + assist. In the 103rd minute, Saka fell in the penalty area, and the referee did not award a penalty. In the 104th minute, Slovakia's attack was very threatening, and Pekarik almost broke the goal with a tackle in front of the goal. In the 105th minute, Bellingham and Kane were replaced, and Konsa and Gallagher came on as substitutes. In the 108th minute, Vavro brought down Eze and received a yellow card. In the 110th minute, Tupta took a free-kick straight at goal, but the ball went over the crossbar. In the 116th minute, a corner kick from the right side of Slovakia was passed to the penalty area, but it was cleared by a header from the England defender. In the final stages of extra time, Slovakia pressed with all their might, while England continued to defend with the lead. In the 120th minute, England counter-attacked, and Ivan Toni's shot from the edge of the box went over the crossbar.
In the end, England reversed Slovakia 2-1 and England advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals.